Innocence Lost
by DragonsWillFly
Summary: As Cara and Kahlan find out their feelings for each other, someone else has plans of their own. Rated M for adult themes. (Non-canon, f/f, Dark fic.)
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoys this story! I am new to the Legend of the Seeker series, but hope this story does the series justice. For the people who know my writing style, you already know what to expect. :) As for the other readers... let's just say my writing tends to walk on the dark side.**_

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The night was perfect. The moon was full and there were no clouds to mar the beautiful star-filled sky. It had been several days since the last band of banelings had tried to attack them, but Kahlan still felt anxious.

The night was too quiet though, not a sound was to be heard save for the low crackling of the camp fire and the soft but steady sound of steel on whetstone as Richard honed the edges of the Sword of Truth. Normally, a night like this would fill the Mother Confessor with peace and hope; but the thoughts, that have been running through her mind as of late, have stolen the serenity from her and caused apprehension to ravage her heart and mind.

It all started a few weeks ago, these thoughts of misgivings about her feelings for the Seeker. At first, Kahlan thought they were just last minute jitters that one would feel right before turning a friendship into an actual relationship. The Confessor knew that hesitations like these were well-founded, especially since she could lose control of her powers in a moment of unbridled passion and confess Richard, causing him to become her thrall; but as the days went by, she realised that it was more than that. She barely tolerated the kisses and embraces he would bestow upon her and the looks he would cast her way when she glanced in his direction would cause the bile to rise in the back of her throat. Were her feelings towards the man magnified because he was the first person to treat her as if she was a regular person? Was it ever really love in the first place? Or was it just the need for being treated equal that caused her to read more into her emotions?

After all, ever since she was born, she was treated differently than the other children in the town that she grew up in. And when Denee was born, her sister soon followed her down the lonely path that was their childhood. The others regarded the two sisters with fear that was ill-covered with respect, but Kahlan also saw the looks of disgust for what they were. She knew those feelings that the townspeople felt for them were well placed, especially since her father forced them to confess others to his will after her mother died. Oh, how she longed for the day that they could leave her father's presence and that of the townsfolk. That day came soon enough. Riders from Aydindril came in search of her mother, but only found a grave and the two young girls. Escorting the two back to Aydindril was easy. They gladly left the home of their father and the fearful glares of the townspeople; but even in Aydindril, the home to all Confessors, Kahlan and Denee were treated differently. As children of the Mother Confessor, their lives were much different than that of the other children of Confessors and as the eldest, Kahlan's was filled with days and days of training to take up the mantle of her mother.

For nearly fifteen years, she trained and studied and was treated with the utmost respect that came with her role as the new Mother Confessor, but behind the respect was still the treatment she had before in the town that her father lived, the cold and distant fear of being different from the rest. But she endured it all. All of the slights she took inward, only to allow them to escape when night fell and she was left alone in her quarters. It wasn't until she met Richard that she realised that actual happiness and friendship could be found in the world.

But it was this happiness and friendship with Richard that has now muddled her senses. How could she had thought that her feelings were more than that of friendship with this man? How could her mind so readily accept such a match between her and Richard? Shaking her head as she feels the worry and anticipation of an argument ready to happen, Kahlan slowly walks towards the camp fire and sits down on a log opposite of the fire from Richard.

Sensing that someone else was nearby, the Seeker puts down the whetstone and sword and smiles at Kahlan, "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Very," she says quietly as she stares at the flickering flames in front of her. Her mind focused on recent events' past than Richard's actual words. A chill runs down her spine as thoughts of piercing green eyes and a playful smirk cross her mind.

"Kahlan, you are cold," the Seeker states as he notices the Confessor shiver. He walks towards her and sits beside her, wrapping his arms around her after he is comfortable.

"No, I am fine Richard," Kahlan tries to pull away from him without upsetting him, "I was just thinking about the past few days." She stares at him and tries to smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

Smirking to himself, the Seeker nods his head, "Yeah, these past few days have been pretty interesting. Especially the day of my birthday surprise."

Nodding her head slowly, Kahlan's thoughts were transported to that fateful day that almost cost her her life and the life of the person who has slowly etched their way into her heart. With a faint smile on her face, the Mother Confessor thinks back on that day with a mixture of pain and happiness. It was a day that she would remember for the rest of her life as the day that she nearly died but also as the day that she finally found her reason to carry on in life.

 _The air was getting thin and Kahlan struggles just to keep her focus on inhaling and exhaling. The sounds of Cara next to her gasping for the same limited air supply keeps her from passing on into the next realm. "Please... stay with me, Cara," Kahlan gasps as she grasps the blonde's hand._

" _Just let me die, Kahlan," Cara states as she fights for air. "If I die, it means you can live on."_

" _No! We will both make it, I promise. Just hold on, Cara," Kahlan says as her eyes roll toward the back of her head. 'I was talking too much...' she thinks as she grips the Mord'Sith's hand tighter. 'Too much talking, not enough air.' She feels the Mord'Sith grip her hand just as fiercely as she had and it causes a small smile to form on her lips._

" _If this is the last thing I ever say to you, Kahlan, then so be it..." Cara starts as she tries to move closer to the Confessor._

" _Cara, don't..." Kahlan begins, but the pain of limited air cuts through her chest like a knife._

" _Please... just let me speak." Cara says stubbornly as she tries to gain enough oxygen to continue. "Before I met you, I never knew I could feel what I feel for anyone, much less a person I was trained to hate. But I don't hate you, Kahlan Amnell, I don't hate you at all."_

 _Kahlan struggles to look at the Mord'Sith beside her and is astonished to see the amount of love and tenderness that the blonde conveyed towards her in one brief moment. She opens her mouth to say something, anything to Cara, but at that moment the torch-light finally flickers out and Kahlan realises that now the air has completely ran out of the tomb. Tomb... the word echoes in her mind as she finally comes to terms with what the room actually is. Not someone else's tomb, their tomb. Her's and Cara's. A place where they will spend eternity. An eternity never able to fulfil all the possibilities that ran through Kahlan's mind the exact moment she realised how much she cared for the woman who she was trapped in the same room with._

 _She feels Cara's hand loosening its grip on hers and she tries vainly to renew the connection between them, but it is so hard to keep focus when all she feels is numbness in her extremities. Kahlan wants to say something to the blonde, anything to keep the blonde from dying but when she opens her mouth all she can do is gasp as her lungs vainly attempt to search the atmos for life-sustaining oxygen. Kahlan feels the world grow darker and that the pain she had felt only seconds before seemed to lessen dramatically. She feels her eyes close as her body begins to, almost imperceptibly, shut down. Suddenly a rush of air and a blinding light causes her body to act on its own accord. Her lungs greedily drink in the cool crisp morning air as her eyes blink back the light. The Confessor grips the Mord'Sith's hand with renewed strength and she is relieved that she feels the same pressure reciprocated._

Kahlan smiles sadly at the memory as she stares into the flames. After that day, neither women had spoke about the incident. The Confessor hoped that maybe Cara was just a little nervous about what she had announced, but, more than likely, the blonde was just caught up in the moment and did not want the brunette to die feeling as though she was alone.

Suddenly, the brush near the camp-fire moves causing both the Confessor and the Seeker to stand up with their weapons in hand. Richard places himself in front of Kahlan, which causes her to roll her eyes at his bravado. Kahlan glances over his shoulder and feels relief flood her being when she sees Cara come through the bushes. The Mord'Sith quirks an eyebrow at the couple in front of her as she notices their weapons were poised for battle. "Something I miss?" She asks as she moves towards the fire to place the brace of hares she had recently caught on a boulder. "If no one protests, I am going to take a bath in this warm spring I found close to our encampment. I guess that leaves you with skinning duty, Richard," she states as she walks back towards the forest. "Before I go," she turns back to look through the bush she had just stepped behind. "The wizard didn't come through this way did he? I know he was looking for some root or another."

"He had went in the other direction," Richard says as he tries to stifle a chuckle.

The Mord'Sith nods her head slightly. "Good, I do not wish to have to kill him if he walks near the spring while I bathe."

Richard chuckles at the blonde and moves back towards the fire. "Maybe you should join her, Kahlan." The Confessor turns to look at the Seeker in astonishment, but luckily his back was turned towards Cara's catch. _'Does he know what happened between us in the tomb?'_ Kahlan opens her mouth to speak, but the Seeker speaks first. "You have been distracted lately. I know our travels have given you cause to be so, but I feel that maybe if you allowed yourself to relax a bit more, maybe it would allow you to focus. And a warm spring sounds like the perfect place to unwind. Plus, I don't want you to go by yourself... it is too dangerous for you to travel alone."

She opens her mouth to protest, but instantly closes it. _'After all this time, he still thinks I can not take care of myself.'_ She rolls her eyes, a trait she had picked up from the Mord'Sith, and walks into the woods where she had last seen the blonde. _'I can't believe it...'_ she thinks to herself as she picks her way past brambles and fallen logs. _'He still thinks I am some weak woman who needs his help every time I turn around. I don't know which one is worse, him or the Home Guard back in Aydindril. Just once in my life, I wish that someone would not feel the need to constantly protect me from everything. He has this way of making me feel as though danger is lurking behind every...'_

A hand shoots out from behind the tree she had just past and clamps down on her mouth. Kahlan tries to elbow her assailant in the stomach, but is immediately released before she could even lift her arm. "Spirits, Kahlan, you shouldn't walk up behind me like that," Cara says as she breathes a sigh of relief. "I could have killed you with my agiel." To emphasize her point, the Mord'Sith places the weapon back into its holster. "What were you doing following me in the first place?"

Kahlan sighs as she sits down on a log. "Richard suggested that I follow you to the warm spring you had found."

Cara lifts a perfectly shaped eyebrow in confusion. "Is there a reason that Lord Rahl even suggested that you follow me? As you all are perfectly aware, I can take care of myself."

"He was thinking that I should follow you so I can use the spring and have you protect me in case a fearsome rabbit jumps out of the bushes," Kahlan replies with a sigh.

The Mord'Sith smirks. "And you follow his advice all the time?"

"No, I was just tired of his constant looks of concern. He said I looked as if I could use a distraction because of the events from the past few days. I felt as though I needed to get away from him. I just can't take his coddling any more!" The Mother Confessor exclaims. She sits there, shocked at her own outbursts. Coming to her senses, she backtracks, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything about this to you. Just forget I said that, Cara."

Cara purses her lips into a small frown when the Confessor tells her to forget what she had previously said. "I think you should speak of this, Kahlan," the Mord'Sith whispers softly as she looks at the brunette in front of her. "Maybe you should speak with him about his delusional theory."

Kahlan smiles softly as she hears the sarcasm etch through the blonde's words. "And what delusional theory is that, Cara?"

The woman in question rolls her eyes. "The theory that makes him believe that you are some woman that needs constant protection by him and the people around him. It merely takes away from your regal presence as Mother Confessor... and takes away from what makes you, you, Kahlan."

Furrowing her brow in confusion, the Confessor crosses her arms in front of her. "What do you mean by that, Cara?"  
The blonde rolls her eyes again and huffs before elaborating. "You are a strong woman, Kahlan. Not just in skill, but in heart and soul. It belittles all of you for him to believe that you can not take care of yourself." Cara's green eyes shine in the moonlight as she continues to stare at Kahlan. "I have seen what you are capable of in all three of these areas I have mentioned and know without any doubt, that you are more than capable of protecting yourself. You do not need anyone to protect you." Cara turns away and stares at the water beside them. "A person should protect themselves from you... especially their heart," the blonde murmurs softly, praying to the spirits that the brunette did not hear her confession.

Kahlan blushes slightly at the Mord'Sith's admission. She knew deep down that what happened while they were locked in the tomb was not just a lapse in judgement on the blonde's behalf, but a single moment where her heart had been unguarded. "Cara," the Mother Confessor whispers as she stands up and crosses the small distance towards the Mord'Sith.

"Don't Kahlan," Cara replies as she moves further away from the other woman and closer to a copse of trees. She could kick herself for allowing that one heartfelt admission slip through her lips. A relationship could never happen between the two women. The Mord'Sith knew that her master, Richard, the Lord Rahl, had already staked his claim to the Mother Confessor and it just would not do for her to harbour such feelings for the woman standing before her; but every single time that Kahlan had stood before her, she would feel her resolve slip. Cara knew for the longest of time, even before they were trapped, that she housed feelings for the Mother Confessor, but allowed her stoic temperament to mask the ever growing feelings of love and desire for Kahlan.

The Mord'Sith also knew that, as the days passed, Kahlan did not feel the same as Richard, but it gave Cara no small hope, for it was still treason against her master. She grasps her agiels tightly as she feels her facade breaking, vainly willing the emotions back below the surface.

"Cara, please," Kahlan murmurs as she reaches for the blonde's arm. "I know how you feel, and I think you know how I feel too. It was only a matter of time before we realised the inevitable."

The Mord'Sith loosens her grip on the agiels at her side and stares at the Mother Confessor beside. "It is wrong, Kahlan," she whispers softly as she half-heartedly pulls away from the brunette. "I can not betray Lord Rahl."

Kahlan moves closer to stand in front of Cara. "But you are not betraying Richard, Cara. I was never his! He only thought that I was. Nothing has ever been established! I have never reciprocated those feelings. He just needs to see that I am not his to protect, that I am not some _thing_ that he owns. I am a person who has their own needs and wants. A person who does not need someone to protect them."

"You know he will not like this," the Mord'Sith replies softly as she takes a deep breath and finally allows herself to relax. She reaches up and gently cups the Confessor's cheek as she tries to still her racing heart as she finally allowed herself to submit to her own wishes.

"I don't care," Kahlan whispers as she leans her cheek further into the gloved hand of Cara. "He needs to understand that my heart is my own and that it was never his to begin with."

The Mord'Sith leans in to kiss the dark-haired woman. As their lips brush against each other, Cara lets out a sigh of relief as she feels the tension that was coiled tightly in her chest and shoulders finally dissipate. She deepens the kiss by wrapping her arm around the Confessor's lithe waist and pulls the woman closer. As they continue to kiss, the world around them seems to disappear for a few brief moments allowing the two women to only think about each other and the possibility of a future together free of anyone hunting them down.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Sorry for the delay in the second chapter, I was away for a few days with no wifi connection. There are a few songs that inspired me to write this story. They are: Innocence By Tarja Turunen, 500 Letters by Tarja Turunen, An Empty Dream by Tarja Turunen and Delirium by Lacuna Coil. As you will all notice, this is where this story takes a different turn from the other Legend of the Seeker stories that are up (at least from what I have seen). I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**_

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As the need for air becomes apparent, the two women end the kiss with a sigh. Cara leans her forehead against Kahlan's as she stares deeply into the Confessor's eyes. "I know I probably should have never done that," she whispers as she runs her hand up Kahlan's side.

"I'm very glad you did," Kahlan replies with a smile. "I wish that I had been able to tell you how I felt about you earlier, Cara. When we were trapped in that tomb, I was so afraid that I would die before I could tell you how I felt about you."

Cara smiles sadly as she remembered that day. "I know, I felt the same as well," she caresses the Confessor's cheek. "But I knew how you felt that day and I am sure you knew how I felt." She pauses as she tries to find the right words to say to the woman in front of her. "I looked into your eyes that day, before the torch-light failed, and saw how much you cared for me. I knew it also mirrored the look I gave you. As you know, Kahlan, I am not a woman of many words and the look I gave you and the look you reciprocated back to me unnerved me that day."

"Why did it scare you, Cara?" Kahlan asks as softly plays with Cara's shoulder-length blonde hair.

Cara huffs slightly and rolls her eyes. "It didn't scare me, it _unnerved_ me. And the reason why is because what I feel for you is not what a Mord'Sith is supposed to feel and she is not to feel this sort of emotion for the woman that the Lord Rahl already staked a claim over."

A branch snaps at the edge of the forest causing both women to jump slightly. They peer into the darkness, but do not see what had caused the movement. Kahlan shakes her head before turning back to face the blonde. "Cara, as I told you before, he has no rights over me. I do not feel the same as he does. I don't think I ever did. I just wish that you would stop thinking of me as..."

Cara's lips cut the rest of Kahlan's sentence off and a soft moan escapes from her mouth instead of the words that had been on the tip of her tongue just seconds before. "I know that now," the Mord'Sith replies with a smile. "I just had to be sure that it wasn't the lack of oxygen speaking before I committed to action what my mind had been hoping for during the months that I had first met you."

"You cared for me back then, even when I nearly had you killed for helping with the assassination of the rest of the Confessors?" Kahlan asks staring at the blonde in front of her incredulously.

Cara shakes her head softly. "Not then, but as I grew to know you. I realised that no one I had ever met in my entire life made me feel like you made feel."

The Mother Confessor raises her hand to cup the blonde's cheek and smiles. "And how do I make you feel?"

Before Cara could reply, a voice booms from beside them. "You make me feel betrayed, bitch."

The two women turn towards the sound of the voice and are stunned to see Richard glaring menacingly, sword in hand, at them. "How could you, Kahlan? You are mine! MINE!" He bellows as he runs towards them with the Sword of Truth raised over his head.

Cara jumps in front of Kahlan as the hilt of Richard's sword swings down. It connects with the side of the blonde's head and she drops to the ground. Blood begins to pool under her as the Seeker steps over her and attempts to grab the Confessor's wrist. He sheathes the sword and reaches behind his back, pulling a Rada'Han free from his belt.

"Cara!" Kahlan shouts as she tries to moves away from Richard. She punches him in the chest causing him to momentarily lose his footing then bends down to retrieve her daggers from her boots.

The metallic ring of the Sword of Truth echoes through the clearing as the Seeker unleashes the weapon from its scabbard. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kahlan" he says threateningly as he places the tip of the sword against her neck.

She stands up slowly, her hands dropping the daggers on the ground beside her. She lifts her chin in defiance and takes a step closer to Richard, causing the sharp edge of the sword to nick her pale flesh. A bright red pearl of blood beads up along the cut and trickles down her throat. "Kill me, if you must, because I will never surrender to you, Richard," she states calmly as she stares into the man's eyes. As she continues to stare at him, she can see the rage of the sword intermingling with his on anger and pain. It is a deadly combination she thinks to herself as she tries to quell her panic and worry for the Mord'Sith who was still unconscious on the ground.

"Why would I kill you, Kahlan?" Richard asks as a sudden madness flickers behind the anger in his eyes. "I love you. I want us to be together forever," he continues as he still holds the sword to her throat.

A groan escapes from Cara's lips as she struggles to lift her head up from the ground. This movement from the blonde causes Richard to turn towards the Mord'Sith allowing Kahlan to reach for his throat. He immediately removes the blade from her throat and focuses it on the Mord'Sith on the ground. "You wouldn't confess me, Kahlan. Now would you?" He asks as he kicks the Mord'Sith over onto her back and impales the blade into the blonde's shoulder.

"Don't Richard! Please!" Kahlan exclaims as she drops her hand from his throat and falls to her knees beside Cara.

The Mord'Sith grits her teeth against the pain as she and the Mother Confessor try to ease the blade out of her shoulder. "It's okay, Cara," Kahlan whispers softly to the woman as they finally succeed. She presses against the wound to staunch the blood flow. "It's going to be okay. I promise you. I promise I will take..." Her words are cut off when she hears the snick of a metal clasp close around her throat. She reaches up to her neck with her unoccupied hand and feels the smooth cold metal of the Rada'Han encasing her.

Abruptly, she feels herself falling backwards away from the Mord'Sith towards the Seeker behind her. Kahlan reaches behind her neck and feels a chain had been attached to the device. Her hand travels the length of the chain, finally touching the calloused hand of Richard. She closes her eyes as she grips his wrist and drops the thin veneer of self-restraint that normally composed her power. It never came. Panic erupts in her chest as she tries to claw at the hand that kept pulling her back through the forest.

"Richard, stop!" Kahlan shrieks as she tries to dig her boots into the ground, praying to the Creator she could happen upon a tree root.

The man acquiesces as he drops to a knee to stare adoringly at the woman on the ground. The Confessor's stomach churns at the look of madness on the man's smiling face. "Please..." she whimpers as she grips a hold of the Rada'Han and desperately pulls at it.

"Whatever you need, my love," he replies with a smile as he cups her cheek in his hand.

"Please take this off me, Richard," she begs as she tries to put a small smile on her face. "There is no need for this."

His face contorts in rage, but he quickly comports himself. "I can not do that, my dear Kahlan. If I do, you will try to run away. I love you too much to have you run away."

She sees a flicker of red in the woods behind Richard and almost let's out a sigh of relief when she realises that it is Cara, but she holds in her happiness and struggles to think of a way to keep his focus on her. "I promise I won't run away. I will stay with you for... forever, just please take this off of me."

He shakes his head softly. "I can't," he whispers softly as he continues to look on her adoringly. "We just need to keep it there until we can run away together, then you will realise that I am the only one for you."

She tries to smile as tears start to fall down her cheeks. Fighting back the bile that is building in her throat, she bites her lower lip. "We will be together, I promise. Please just allow me to walk?"

He nods his head energetically as he stands up and reaches his hand back down to help the Mother Confessor up from the ground. As soon as he grips her hand, a loud screeching sound pierces the otherwise quiet night. Richard convulses as the agiel continues to stab him in his lower back. "She is her own person," Cara spits out as she makes the Seeker kneel back down on the ground. "Kahlan is allowed to love whomever her heart desires, not who demands to take it from her."

A roar escapes the man's throat as he fights against the pain of the agiel. Richard reaches for the knife in his boot and turns around, stabbing the Mord'Sith in the stomach. The agiel slips from Cara's hand as she grabs the handle of the knife. She falls to her knees and stares at the man in front of her who starts to reach behind his back for his sword.

"No!" Kahlan shouts out as she jumps up from the ground and slams into the Seeker's stomach, knocking him to the ground. She starts pummelling him in the face and chest with her fists.

He reaches up with his hands, effectively blocking her punches, and wraps her slender wrists with his powerful hands. "Stop!" he shouts as he throws her off of him and tackles her to the ground. Richard raises his hand and punches Kahlan in the face, knocking the Confessor unconscious.

Cara watches in horror as he continues to beat Kahlan who is still underneath him. Her blood slicked hands try to vainly pull out the dagger in her abdomen as she stumbles to her feet to save the woman she had fallen in love with. She grits her teeth when she finally grips the dagger and pulls it out. A haggard gasp escapes her chest as she staggers towards the two people on the ground. She tightens the grip on the knife and takes a deep breath, her mind warring over what she is about to do.

' _Richard is the Lord Rahl. Without him, D'Hara will succumb to the Keeper... the Midlands will be destroyed as well. He is the Seeker...'_ She shakes her head roughly to clear it. ' _But she is Kahlan... and she said she cares for me.'_ A new resolve steels her heart and her hand as she plunges the knife deep within Richard's shoulder-blade.

He straightens up quickly and reaches for the dagger in his back as he turns around and back hands the blonde behind him causing her to fall to the ground. She struggles to get back to her feet, but blood loss is making her weak. Richard walks casually toward her and places his boot on the wound in her gut. "What sort of witch craft have you placed on Kahlan?" He growls the question out at Cara like an animal. "What have you done to my beloved?" He pulls the knife out of his back and throws it to the ground. "You have disappointed me... _your_ Lord Rahl. How dare you go against my wishes. You are Mord'Sith, you obey me."

Cara squirms underneath the weight of his foot on her injured stomach, but she continues to stare defiantly at the man she had once followed. Using her remaining strength, she spits in his face. "You are no longer the Lord Rahl that I respected," she seethes. "You showed me to follow my heart and what do you do when I do? You try to kill me and Kahlan. I hope the Keeper takes you!"

Richard casually wipes the blood mixed with saliva off his face and bends down to wipe the concoction on the Mord'Sith's red leather uniform. Using his foot that was still on the blonde's stomach, he straightens himself back to his full height. A sharp gasp of pain leaves Cara's throat as he starts to ground the heel of his boot into her wound. "You need to be disciplined more," he states casually then kicks her in the stomach. He walks back towards the still form of the Mother Confessor and bends down to pick her up.

"You will never leave this forest alive, Richard," Cara states hoarsely as she struggles to her feet, her hands gripping her stomach in pain.

The Seeker lifts the Mother Confessor off the ground and hoists her over his shoulder as if the wound in his back were not even there. He glances back at Cara, who is finally on her feet, and chuckles darkly. "It is you who will never leave this forest alive," he states calmly as he walks towards the Mord'Sith and stares into her eyes.

The next thing Cara sees in Richard's fist flying towards her face. She hits the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her and her eyes close for what she feels could be the very last time. Her last conscious thoughts being of Kahlan's sweet lips upon her own.


	3. Chapter 3

Zed hears shouting in the distance, close to the encampment the four of the had created earlier. Dropping the bundle of roots he had collected for dinner, he traverses back towards their camp. _'Spirits, I wish I was younger,'_ he thinks to himself as he carefully crosses over a fallen log. _'I just hope no one is hurt too bad. The scream sounded like Cara, but that can't be right.'_  
He breaks through the clearing that their camp was set up in and discovers no one there. _'Hmm, where is everyone?'_ he questions silently, lifting his hand up to cast a spell to detect others. Noticing someone is close to a copse of trees further away from the camp, he hurries towards the life he had detected.

Pushing back a branch his eyes widen in shock as he sees a barely alive Cara attempting to crawl back to camp. "By the Creator, Cara! Stop! Let me help you!"

She lifts her eyes up towards the wizard who knelt down beside her. "Can't stop," she breathes out raggedly as she struggles to catch her breath.

"You are going to kill yourself if you try to move anymore!" Zed warns softly as he searches with his magic to see which wound was the most life-threatening. _'Several broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and nose. Not to mention stab wounds and the bruising on the side of her head. I am surprised she had enough in her to make it back to camp.'_

For several moments the wizard works in silence to help the blonde laying before him. When most of her wounds were healed, Cara opens her eyes. "We have to get out of here now," she says as she struggles to her feet.

"Cara..." Zed looks at the Mord'Sith questioningly before continuing. "You lost a lot of blood. I want to know what happened and you need to rest."

"I can't rest, wizard," she replies as she stumbles towards the forest she had crawled out of.

He tries to get up as quickly as possible to follow after the blonde. "You have to rest!" He calls out after her. "Where are you going? Where's Kahlan and Richard? Were you all attacked? Are they hurt?"

Zed enters another clearing and sees the Mord'Sith kneeling down in the middle of it. The moon-light illuminating her golden hair and her trembling shoulders. "It's okay, my dear, we will find them."

She raises her head and pins him with a cold stare. In her hands he can see her agiels as well as Kahlan's daggers. "We have to," Cara states solemnly as she grips her agiels tighter, allowing the pain of the weapon to course through her body.

"What happened?" Zed asks softly as he watches the blonde place her weapons in their holsters and shoves Kahlan's daggers in her boots. She ignores him as she moves towards the further end of the clearing. She kneels down again and stares at the ground in front of her.

"Can you track them?" Cara asks as she looks up at the wizard curling her hand around what looks like two amulets. Upon closer inspection, he realises one is the compass to locate the Stone of Tears and the other is a small stone on a leather thong that he recognised as a necklace that Kahlan had worn while crossing through the barrier.

"Of course," he says softly. "I don't need their possessions. I can do it because I am Richard's grandfather, so I can trace him without anything."

"Can you also tell if, Kahlan lives?" Cara asks hopefully as she straightens her back and stares at the wizard.

"Of course I can create a spell for that, but why do I need to? Plus, I will need a drop of her blood," Zed replies cautiously. "Did someone carry them off?"

"Something like that," Cara mutters as she searches the area where Kahlan had fell. "I wish I had a torch or something," she mumbles as she feels the ground around her.

"Will this help?" Zed asks as he flicks his hand creating a small flame in his palm.

She merely nods her head in appreciation and continues to scour the ground in front of her. The Mord'Sith's heart nearly leaps into her throat when she sees the carnage that had been this clearing. Even though she could see in the moon-light where the scuffle had taken place, the raw light of the flame caused the blood on the ground to glisten like dew.

"Spirits," Zed exclaims in a whisper as he looks around the parcel of land. "It looks like a battle occurred here. How come I didn't hear anything?"

"Maybe your hearing isn't what it use to be, old man," Cara states reflexively as she runs her hand through the blood-soaked grass and turns towards the wizard. "Cast the spell to see if she is okay... please," the Mord'Sith whispers softly as she stares at the blood on her fingertips.

Too stunned to speak after hearing the word 'please' from the blonde, he simply nods his head and smears his finger into the blood. The wizard mumbles an incantation under his breath and watches as the blood glows faintly on his finger. "She's alive," he says softly staring at the blonde in front of him.

The Mord'Sith takes a calming breath and turns her away from the older man, but not before he sees a lone tear trickle down her cheek. "What happened, my child?" he asks again softly as he places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

To his surprise, she does not shrug his hand off. Taking a deep breath she closes her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispers before looking at the wizard. "I didn't mean to fall in love with her, but if I could turn back time, I wouldn't change how I feel about Kahlan."

He nods his head as a soft smile etches its way across his face. "It's okay my dear, love is a good thing. It is a power that makes life worth living."

She finally shrugs his hand off her shoulder and walks back towards the camp. "At the cost of Kahlan being kidnapped and beaten nearly to death?" she asks over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about Cara? Who took Kahlan and who hurt you?" Zed asks as he follows her back into the encampment.

She ignores him as she sets about the camp throwing everything together and putting out the fire. "We can still catch up to them," she says more to herself than the wizard. "I think they have at least half an hour head start on us," she says to Zed as she throws his bedroll at him causing him to stagger back at the force. She picks up her pack and Kahlan's before kicking Richard's into the remaining burning embers of the fire.

"Richard will need his pack too!" Zed exclaims as he rushes to pull his grandson's pack out of the fire that started anew.

Cara stares at the wizard pinning him in place with her gaze. "We don't need to carry dead weight," she states as she lifts an eyebrow daring him to question her line of thinking.

"Spirits," Zed mutters as he stares into the Mord'Sith's eyes. "He did this?" He shakes his head trying to detach the thought from his head. "Richard would never do this," the wizard states, his voice quavering slightly.

"Keep telling yourself that, wizard," Cara huffs as she runs her hand through her blonde hair. "Do the spell. We don't have a lot of time."

He nods his head quickly and takes a deep breath trying to channel his magic. Drawing deep within himself, he pushes back the horrible truth of what his grandson had done and taps into his power. Closing his eyes, he lifts his hands as he chants incoherently. After a few seconds, he rests his hand palm up and then covers it with his other hand. Zed opens his eyes and stares at the woman in front of him. She gestures towards him to continue what he was doing and he smiles slightly at her impatience. "It's done."

She furrows her eyebrows and stares at him. "Well, how are we going to track him down? Or are you suggesting that he comes back to find us, after the fact that he may kill Kahlan."

"He would never hurt Kahlan," Zed says defensively.

Cara raises an eyebrow and sneers. "You did not see what we went through! He ran at her with the Sword of Truth. That's how I injured my head, I stepped in front of her and he hit me with the hilt. I won't go into the rest of the details with you, wizard, but we must hurry before he tries to hurt her more." Her voice starts to waver with emotion. "I just hope we can get there in time."

"We will Cara," he says softly as he shows her the device in his hand. It looked exactly like the compass she was holding to find the Stone of Tears, but it didn't have a cover.

She gently takes it from his hand and stares at the face of the compass. "How does it work?" she asks as she moves around the campsite with it in her hand.

"I couldn't make it to follow Richard," Zed says softly as he looks down at the ground. "But before you go crazy, let me explain," he says quickly as he raises his hands. "I couldn't bypass the anger I feel for Richard for doing this, I may not know everything that happened and I hope you will eventually tell me everything, as much as I would hate to hear it all; but I did make the compass react to whoever the bearer of the compass is thinking about. It has to be a strong emotion though..." he glances at the blonde as smiles softly. "Like love."

She licks her lips and takes a deep breath, "So, if I think of Kahlan, I will be able to follow their trail?" Zed nods his head in amicably. Cara nods her head as well as she sighs and closes her eyes, willing the image of the Mother Confessor into her mind. After a few seconds, the inert needle begins to spin around wildly before pointing towards the southeast. She opens her eyes and feels a lump from in her throat as she peers at the compass. "We go south-east," she says softly as she looks up from the compass and stares at the wizard in front of her.

"Then let's be off, shall we?" Zed says as he starts walking through the brush.

Cara smiles as she walks after the wizard. _'Thank the Spirits he is helping me. I wouldn't even have survived to help Kahlan if not for him.'_ She thinks to herself as she catches up with Zed and walks beside him.

"You said that they probably have an hour head start on us, correct?" the wizard asks once she is right next to him.

"If I remember correctly," she replies as she glances down at the compass. "As you noticed before, I wasn't exactly able to differentiate time passage."

"I am surprised you were alive long enough for me to find you, not to mention being able to drag yourself towards camp," Zed says as he pushes a branch out of his way. "I wish that damned boy wasn't a great woodsman, we could have been able to follow his trail instead of having to use that compass."

She glances at the man next to her. "What do you mean, you are surprised I survived? I am Mord'Sith, of course I would survive."

He rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "Of course, my dear, I seem to have forgotten in my old age what you are."

She nods her head distractedly as she glances back at the device in her hand. "If he continues moving southeast from here, I think I may have an idea as to where he is heading," Cara says as she steps over a fallen log, careful that she is not stepping on a snake in the process.

"What's south-east of here?" Zed asks as he glances down at the ground before him. Something catches his eyes in the moon-light causing the wizard to kneel down by the base of a large oak tree.

"There's an old ruin out this way that was used by Darken Rahl at one point. He would train Mord'Sith there and would..." Cara glances behind her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe Kahlan is helping us after all," he states with a smile as he picks up a piece of white fabric from the ground. "This looks to be a piece of her Confessor's dress."

The blonde walks back towards Zed and takes the cloth from his hand. "You're right, that means she's conscious enough to maybe stall him so we can catch up," she says excitedly as she runs the piece of fabric through her gloved fingers.

"I think I like this side of you better than the Mord'Sith side, my child," Zed says with a smirk. "Being in love suits you."

She rolls her eyes and huffs. "We've wasted enough time here. Let's get going before he realises what she is doing." Cara shudders slightly as the memory of Richard punching Kahlan in the face pushes to the forefront of her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

"Will you stop struggling? I am trying to rescue you!" Richard hisses as he hoists Kahlan more securely on his shoulder and continues to march, carefully but surely, through the forest.

"Can you please put me down?" Kahlan asks as she wriggles in his arm. She hated that he had knocked her out, but wasn't worried about her current state. With every passing moment her mind stayed on one person, Cara. ' _Please let her still be alive,'_ Kahlan slightly prays as she coughs slightly to cover the sound of her ripping another piece of fabric from her already tattered dress. _'Creator please let her find me,'_ she prays as she drops the piece to the ground.

"Why should I put you down? So you can try to run away from me again?" the Seeker asks as he tightens his grip on her middle. "I told you she bewitched you, can't you see that, Kahlan? Mord'Sith are masters of seduction and can make the strongest person their thrall. I had to get you away from her. I just had to make you see that I am the only one for you." Kahlan hears the smile in his voice as he continues. "You will see that I am the only one who can love you. I am your Seeker and you are my Confessor."

The Mother Confessor holds back the bile that was climbing up her throat. "But your hurt," she says trying to force more concern in her voice than she actually felt. "Your wound is still bleeding, maybe we should stop so I can treat it."

He shakes his head violently and continues on, making sure he doesn't snap any branches along the way. "We don't have much further to go," he states as he bends down to clear a low lying branch. "There is a ruin up ahead that no one knows about."

She frowns at his statement. "But if no one knows about it, how do you know it is there?" she asks as she thinks of ways to stall him.

"My brother showed it to me one night in my dreams," Richard moonily. "He had told me it was only a matter of time that you would betray me and run off with that bitch. I should have listened to him. You're mine and no one is going to take you away from me."

 _'He's lost his mind,'_ Kahlan thinks as a chill runs up her arms. She rubs her arms to combat the goosebumps, but her hand hits something sharp and metallic in her sleeve. Reaching inside, she feels the point of a dagger pricks her fingertip. _'When did I hide a dagger there?'_ she questions herself as she tries to slowly ease it out of her sleeve. The time for stalling with words was over she knew, but thought of attacking him alone in the dark woods was not the answer either. _'Cara and I both couldn't take him on. There is no way I can alone... not while this madness has overcome his senses.'_

"What are you thinking about?" the Seeker asks cautiously as he tries to look behind his left shoulder.

"Nothing," Kahlan says quickly as she stops toying with the dagger and hurriedly pushes it back up her sleeve.

He stops mid-stride and throws her to the ground. Chuckling nervously, Richard paces back and forth in front of her. "Now why don't I believe you?" the Seeker questions as he stares at her.

Kahlan lifts her head defiantly and always her face to become as placid as a serene pond on a windless day. "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not Richard Cypher, what matters is that it is the truth."

He shakes his head slowly, clucking his tongue against his teeth. "First off, it is Richard Rahl. And second, do not forget that I am the Seeker of Truth, Mother Confessor. I know a lie when I hear one. You were thinking about _her_ weren't you?" He smiles when she doesn't answer. "I knew it. You are still under her spell." He shrugs his shoulders and pulls on the chain attached to the Rada'Han. "Get up." He pulls harder when she didn't move as fast as he wanted her to. "I said, get up!"

Kahlan quickly stands and stumbles forward as he travels ahead of her pulling the chain around her neck. "You want to walk, so I will let you walk, but I will set the pace." Richard turns around swiftly and points a finger in her face. "But if I find out that you are setting a trail for that bitch, though she is as good as dead, I will break all the little bones in your hands to the point that you will never be able to use them again. Am I clear?"

She nods her head quickly and takes a deep breath.

"Good. I knew you would see things my way," he says with a half-crazed smile. "And..." Richard begins as he pulls his belt from around his waist. "Just a precaution so you don't try to pick a log off the ground and try to bash my brains in," he states merrily, madness dancing in his eyes as he loops the strap around each of her wrist separately. Taking the end of the belt, he places it in between her hands and loops it through the buckle tightly.

Kahlan flinches at the way the rough leather bites into her skin. "Can you make it a little looser?" she asks softly as starts to feel her fingers quickly go numb from lack of circulation.

He smirks at her and shakes his head. "I don't think so, Kahlan," he whispers sweetly into her ear causing her to cringe. "I don't trust you enough yet to allow that." Richard brushes her hair back behind her ear. "I promise once we are at the ruin and we take her out of your mind, I will release you from the Rada'Han. I didn't like it either."

He pulls on the belt causing her to stumble forward. "Come on, we need to hurry. The quicker we get there, the quicker you are mine again."

"But Richard..." Kahlan starts but is quickly cut off from speaking when he jerks the chain attached to the Rada'Han again.

"You will not speak back," He sneers as spins on the ball of his foot and faces her again. He takes a deep breath and looks up at the full moon. A smile crosses his face when he peers back at her. "I don't want to hurt you," he reaches up to caress her cheek again. "But you leave me no choice." He lifts his hand off her cheek and crashes it back against her face. Kahlan falls to the ground with a cry, jerking the chain from his hand. The forest becomes silent after her cry, the only real sounds permeating their bubble of solitude is Richard's ragged breathing.

Finally, his voice breaks the stillness around them. "I didn't want to do that... I really didn't, Kahlan, but you left me no choice. And when you leave me no choice, I can not help what you cause for yourself."

The Confessor's breath catches in her throat as she tries to bite back the venomous retort that begged to be released from the tip of her tongue. _'He has gone mad,'_ she thinks to herself. _'Utterly and completely mad. Maybe the sword's magic has unravelled his brain like Zed said it would to a person of lesser moral turpitude. Hopefully, he will come to his senses,'_ she hopes, but knows that the man before her is no longer the man she had befriended all those months ago.

He shakes his head rapidly as if to clear cobwebs of thoughts from his mind. "We need to move now. We need to get to the old Mord'Sith temple ruin," he says aloud, but Kahlan knows he is not really speaking to her. Richard stands up and shrugs his shoulders, working the kinks out of the muscles from the earlier fight and the flight afterwards when he carried the Mother Confessor on his shoulder. He hisses as he feels the pain that the knife wound inflicted upon him. The blood trickles down his back and pooled uncomfortably in between his shirt and lower back. Ripping the bloodied ragged cloth of his ruined shirt from his body, he sighs in relief as the sticky material peels off his over-heated skin. Sweat gleams in the moon-light from his feverish skin and he wipes the sweat from his brow with the ruined shirt. He tosses the shirt off to the side of the path. "We'll rest when we reach the ruin," he mutters to himself before reaching for the chain attached to the collar around Kahlan's neck.

He tugs it impatiently as he runs his free hand through his hair. "Come on, they will catch up to us I know they will."

Kahlan hears the fear in his voice at the thought of being chased through the thick under-brush of the forest in the middle of the night, but she couldn't quite keep the pain out of her own voice when she finally decided to speak again. It was a pain that knew that her questionings would possibly be the death of her, but she no longer cared. Even if Cara had survived her run-in with Richard, who was to say that the Mord'Sith was fit enough to chase after them in the woods, though lit by a bright full moon, to rescue the Mother Confessor.

She could no longer allow her heart the childish hope of safety. Everything felt as an empty dream, nothing she could say or do to the man she had once considered her best friend and possibly (at one time) more than a friend; would sway him from his course of action. Kahlan felt as if she were a woman drowning in a sea of pain and regret in that moment before any sound could come out of her mouth.

Even though she felt this way, she closes her eyes and reached inside herself to draw strength from a tiny, infinitesimal well-spring that she had hoped and prayed to the Creator would be there within. Opening her eyes, she feels a calm pass before her, much like the calm before a storm that is lurking just beyond the horizon that plans to wipe out an entire village.

"Even if no one is following us, I will never be yours," Kahlan hears herself say as she looks up at the man standing before her. "I was never yours to begin with. My heart is my own. It is not to be bought, sold, or taken by someone who feels as though they have the right to have it. Just because you think it is your destiny to have it, does not make this true.

"Even if it is set in stone that our lives destined to intertwine, I would not believe it. I would fight with every breath I have left to keep away from you," Kahlan says with a calm vehemence.

Richard chuckles darkly and shakes his head. "She had her claws in you deep, didn't she?" he asks as he snatches at the chain with enough force to pull the Confessor off the ground. "That's okay. I know how to get your mind off of a Mord'Sith." He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him.

"Richard. Don't. Please," she whimpers as she tries to turn her head from his. Suddenly, she feels herself falling from his grasp and hitting the hard-packed ground of the trail underneath her.

"Bitch," he mutters to himself more than to her and tugs on the belt in his hand dragging Kahlan along after him.


	5. Chapter 5

Are you sure that he did this?" Zed asks as he stumbles over a fallen branch in the middle of the trail.

Cara rolls her eyes and then glances back at the compass in her hand. They were on the right trail and she felt within her soul that she knew exactly where Richard would take Kahlan. "Do you doubt what I have told you, old man?" Cara asks with a sneer as she continues on the path.

The wizard brushes his hair out from in front of his face and huffs. "No, I don't, but I still do not understand why he would act this way." He pauses for a second and then continues. "What I mean to say is that I can understand that he is upset. His heart was broken, but to attack you two? And steal Kahlan away? It just doesn't sound like my grandson is all I am trying to say."

The Mord'Sith simply nods her head in response, but realises the wizard can not see it. She licks her lips out of nervousness, before speaking. It was a habit that she rarely ever indulged in, but tonight, it seemed as if the habit from her childhood was making a new appearance in her life. "I know it sounds crazy, but it happened. If someone would have told me a month ago that Richard would have done such a thing, I would have rammed my agiel down their throat; but now that I have seen it, I should have known something like this would have happened."

"Why is that my child?" Zed asks from behind her, his words haggard from their brisk pace.

"It's something you mentioned before when you spoke of what makes the magic of the sword work," Cara replies as she ducks under a low branch. "You mentioned that it feeds off the rage and anger in the wielder. So that would indicate that Lord Rahl has a well-spring of rage dwelling beneath the surface. And..."

"That's not exactly what I meant, Cara," Zed interjects as the path finally widens around them to allow him to walk beside the blonde. "A person has to learn how to harness the anger that dwells inside them, that we all have, to be able to properly use the Sword of Truth. They have to..."

"His father was Panis Rahl and his brother was Darken Rahl," Cara says simply as she glances at the man beside her. "I am sure you remember what type of people they were." She stops in the middle of the path and stares at the ground. "I can surely remember what kind of people they were," she says grimly and she bends down and reaches underneath a haphazard pile of leaves. Pulling at the item that had caught her attention in the moon-light, Cara inhales sharply as she realises what was in her hands. "This is Kahlan's spare dagger!"

"Her spare dagger?" Zed says as he stoops beside the blonde and stares curiously at the weapon in her hand. "I never knew she had more than two."  
"I made a suggestion to her months ago to keep a spare with her just in case we ran across more Mord'Sith. Since Richard's sword and your magic doesn't work against Mord'Sith, I thought it would be a good idea for her to carry it." She shakes her head sadly as she remembers back to that day. "She would always give Richard one of her daggers so he could protect himself, but it left her with lesser defence, I just merely suggested it and never thought she would have done so. Richard never bought a new sword when I mentioned it to him before. He would always smile and say that the rest of my sisters would eventually come around; but Kahlan listened. Even though we had a rough beginning, she always seemed to take what I said seriously."

Zed pats the blonde on the shoulder and smiles softly at her. "She knew the good inside you before you even knew there was anything good left in you," he says softly as he gets back to his feet.

Deciding that a turn in conversation was due, Zed looks about the path. "Why would Kahlan drop her dagger? Do you think Richard knew she had it and threw it away?"

"No," Cara says absently as she runs her hand over the polished blade. "He doesn't know she had this dagger. I believe she dropped it so he couldn't find it on her." She glances at the ground around them and frowns. "Look over there," the blonde says pointing to the base of a tree a few feet from the path. She strides over to the tree and picks something up. "This is Richard's shirt!" She hands the tattered cloth to the wizard.

"The blood on it is not quite dry," Zed replies as he feels the damp rag. "We must be getting closer to them."

The Mord'Sith secures the dagger in her belt and stands up. "Are you prepared wizard?" she asks softly as she stares at the older man beside her.

"Prepared for what, my dear?" he queries as he drops the blood-soaked tatters that were once a shirt to the ground.

The blonde takes a deep breath and starts back walking down the path. "Are you prepared to name a new Seeker by the time this is over with?"

Zed wipes a hand over his face and takes a deep breath. He knows what he is about to say will probably enrage the Mord'Sith but the wizard knows if he doesn't speak, she will never know how he feels. "Cara," he says softly hoping the blonde will halt in her progression to hear him.

It worked. She turns to face him, her hands on her hips, "We are wasting time, wizard."

"This will be quick," he states when he hears the edge in her voice. "Before you do anything rash, I want to be sure that this is Richard."

"What do you mean?" Cara retorts with a huff. "I have already told you it was him! You saw what he did to me, I believe I could recognise my own attacker."

Zed shakes his head softly before continuing, "That is not what I am implying, Cara. Do you when Kahlan's personality was torn in two?"

She rolls her eyes. "Of course I do," she states as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Is there a point to this?"  
"What if the same thing has happened to Richard?" the wizard questions as he gestures for her to finally continue walking. "If that is what has happened; that his rage and anger is in one persona and the rest of him is somewhere else out here in the Midlands, how can we be sure to bring both sides of him back together to continue the mission?"

"Did he seem blood-thirsty to you before you went capering off to find the fable root that will making your cooking a thousand-times better?" Cara queries as she glances around the trail for more evidence of their quarries' movements.

Zed glances up at the night sky above, taking in the quiet serenity that the starry night offered him willingly. _'How did such a beautiful night turn into the Keeper's den?'_ he asks himself as he watches a falling star sail across the darkness. The wizard takes a deep breath when he feels the Mord'Sith's eyes boring holes into him. "No. Richard seemed perfectly normal when I had last seen him before I left the camp."

Cara nods her head. "So, it is not like how we found Kahlan that time when she was split in two. Back then we knew there was something wrong with Kahlan; now things are not as cut and dry as then." She stops at the edge of the clearing ahead of the and crouches down under a large bush. "He had told her to come with me when I went to go bathe in spring I had found because he was worried about her safety."

He hunkers down beside the blonde with a soft grunt. "That sounds like our Richard to me. He never quite understood that the Mother Confessor could take care of herself. Why have we stopped?"

"We are here," Cara replies softly as she grips an agiel tightly.

"That ruin is the temple you mentioned?" Zed asks skeptically as he squints his eyes to see. "It doesn't look like much from here."

"That's because majority of the structure was built underground and into the adjoining cave system of the mountain behind it." She smirks as she looks over her left shoulder at the wizard. "I know some of the temples are a bit ostentatious, but only the ones in D'Hara. The temples that were erected in the Midlands were inconspicuous, so as not to draw attention to ourselves."

"This temple..." Zed begins as he motions with a flick of his wrist. "does it have more than one entrance. I am sure that Richard will expect someone to be coming after him and will have prepared a nasty surprise for whoever enters through the front door."

"He was paranoid, that's for sure," Cara states as she stares intently at the darkened structure. "There are two other entrances to the temple, but they are not easy to enter. One is through an old tunnel on this side of the mountain, but the tunnel is sunken under an underground stream."

"And the other?" Zed asks though he is afraid of what the blonde has to say.

"It is on the other side of the mountain. Out of our way by at least half a day," she replies as she grips her agiels tighter as she stands up and glances around the dark clearing. "That entrance is also home to a nest of short-tailed gars though. It is not an option."

"No it isn't," the wizard replies as he stands as well. "We would be lucky to make it past the gars, much less be in fighting form for..."

She grips the front of his robes and pulls him closer. "You don't understand," she glares into his eyes. A look of determination flickering in her green eyes. "I would gladly fight off a swarm of gars and several quads of my fellow sisters to save Kahlan from what ever Richard has in store for her. She is the only thing I care about right now. Not this mission for that stupid stone. Not all the people we have helped along the way on our travels. Not even the fucking Keeper, whose hold is getting stronger on our world by the day!" She releases her hold on his robes and stalks off into the clearing towards the ruin.

Zed stares after Cara , then shakes his head to clear it. "Cara wait up, I have an idea!" he exclaims in a loud whisper as he struggles to catch up with the Mord'Sith.

"We've stalled enough, wizard."

"Listen," he says as he comes closer to Cara. "if we charge in; he will most certainly know we are here and will do something that could harm Kahlan." He quirks an eyebrow and allows a small smile to grace his face. "But if we create a distraction..."

"I'm not putting a dress on again," Cara begins as she crosses her arms in front of her and sighs.

"No. No. No, my dear, nothing like that; I assure you." Zed grins at the memory, but quickly files it away for later. "Now if you will allow me a few moments to explain my idea."

The Mord'Sith nods her head quickly. "I'm all ears, wizard; but just know that this better not take too long."

"I promise you it won't, Cara," he says confidently as he gestures for her to continue walking. "But first let us go to the entrance of this sunken tunnel you mentioned, then I will tell you my idea."


	6. Chapter 6

In a small room in the back of the temple, away from the front windows, shadows play across the mottled walls of the dungeon in which Richard has Kahlan shackled to the wall. The Mother Confessor notices that he had arranged the candles around her as if setting offering towards the Creator with her as the sacrifice to the mother of all. "Why are you doing this?" Kahlan asks as she tests the strength of the rusty ring, that is set into the mortar between two thick granite slabs, that her wrists are chained to above her head.

The Seeker ignores her as he goes about finishing lighting all of the candles. He hums a spirited little tune as he lights the last candle, which he had placed on the table in the middle of the room. "I have always found you beautiful, Kahlan," he whispers softly with his back still turned towards her. "When I first met you, I thought you were a good spirit sent down by the Creator herself." Richard turns to face her and gestures towards her Confessor's dress. "All dressed in white. Your hair cascading down your back like a lovely waterfall that I could have lost myself for forever in."

He reaches for her and touches the side of her face where a dark, angry bruise was forming, from where he had punched her in the forest. Caressing the side of her face, he smiles softly before it is replaced with an angry scowl. Digging his fingers into the contusion, he presses and presses until she tries to move away from his hands. "But it was all a lie!" Richard screams as he back-hands her and stalks back towards the table. "A trick! I should have listened to my brother, but you made me kill him. You knew that he was on to you and you had me kill him before he could tell me that you were nothing but a demon!"

"Please, Richard," Kahlan says softly as her eyes grow large as she sees the dagger in his hand. "Let's talk," she licks her lips quickly before continuing. "We can go back to camp and visit with Zed, maybe he can figure out what is going on." She closes her eyes as he lumbers towards her with the dagger in his hand.

Suddenly, she hears the ripping of fabric but does not feel the cool night air on her skin. She opens her eyes to and sees the tattered remains of her white Confessor's dress in his hands. "There," he states as he throws it into the corner. "Now this is an outfit that truly shows your nature." The Seeker glances at the leather corset and dress she wears underneath her white dress. He comes closer to her and Kahlan flinches as his hand comes into contact with her cheek again. "But it's okay. I know the real Kahlan is in there still," he stares into her eyes and smiles, "somewhere." He places a chaste kiss on her forehead and steps away. "I know who the real demon is and there is no way she can ever come between us again. I made sure of that," Richard says with a smirk. "Now to make sure no more remnants are left." He reaches behind his back and grabs an agiel from the table-top and walks slowly towards Kahlan again.

* * *

"I think it might work," Cara says as Zed finishes up his plan. "But are you sure that Richard will trust you?"

"I am his grandfather, after all," the wizard says as he stares at the dark tunnel before them, trying to peer through the darkness to the path beyond.

"That is true, but in his current state, he may not see familial bonds as a reason to trust someone," the Mord'Sith replies as she casts a worried glance at the old man. "I just don't want anything to happen to Kahlan or to you for that matter. If he suspects anything, things might become worse than what they are before I can make my way through to the temple."

"Don't worry, my dear," Zed assures the Mord'Sith as he pats her arm. "I have known Richard for years and I expect this will be easier for me to do this according to my plan than for him to see both of us appearing out of nowhere."

She nods her head as she thinks everything over. "You're right. This just has to work, plus it will give us a better advantage when the time comes. I just hope you know what you are doing?"

A small smile etches onto the old wizard's face. "Let's just say that I didn't get to the age that I am without a few risks that went my way."

Cara smiles softly at Zed, a rare event, that nearly shocks the wizard whenever it does happen; but tonight, with everything else that has occurred, it is a rarity the old man welcomes. "Just make sure that you will be able to do what is necessary when the time comes."

"Family or not, I promise to do what is necessary to keep the Keeper from taking over our world. I can always appoint another Seeker, but I can not find another Confessor."

A scream echoes in the night, causing goose-flesh to rise on the blonde's skin. "It's Kahlan!" she exclaims as she tries to rush headlong into the darkened tunnel in front of her, but Zed clamps a hand on her shoulder.

"Please be careful, my dear," he breathes out quickly as he takes his hand off of her and turns towards the main entrance of the temple.

"You too, old man," Cara whispers before darting into the gaping mouth of the tunnel.

Darkness impairs her vision as she stumbles over a large rock in the path. _'Should have brought a torch,'_ she thinks to herself as she clambers to her feet and reaches for the side of the cave. _'I can't expect myself to think of everything,'_ Cara tells herself as she uses the side of the tunnel to find her way through the blackness. _'I was nearly dead when Zed found me and I needed to find Kahlan before Richard kills her.'_

 _'For all you know, he could have killed her already. That last scream could have literally been her last,'_ the pessimistic side of her brain states in a cold, calculated voice that she has often heard herself use. _'You are wasting your time trying to save her,'_ it continues as she turns around a bend. The sound of water lapping against the rocks is getting louder with each step she takes. _'You should have never got involved. She was his to begin with after all. You ruined your position with Lord Rahl and for what? A possibility? How do you know for certain that she really loved you?_

 _'A Mord'Sith. A woman who killed everyone she had ever known and loved. That is not the best way to start a loving relationship, now is it? Besides... you can't even have sex with her. You do remember what a Confessor can do to a Mord'Sith, don't you? You remember what happened to some of your sisters in Aydindril. Their blackened eyes and looks of torment in death still haunt some of your worst dreams. I should know, because I am you.'_

"Shut up," Cara growls to the darkness surrounding her. She grips her agiels tightly as she takes deep breaths to calm her racing her heart. "I am not going to listen to any of this, even if it is from my own mind. We will find a way to get through all of this. There is always a way. If I can find a way to love someone I was trained to hate, then we can find a way around anything."

She continues down the passageway, her left hand still on an agiel and her right skimming the side of the granite beside her. _'Where is the next turn, I know it's around here somewhere,'_ Cara thinks as she quickens her pace. _'I know there is a right turn here somewhere. I know I didn't pass it.'_

Her mind wanders to the last time she had traversed this same passageway several years before. A time before Cara had ever had knowledge of another child of Panis Rahl. An era of her life that she is glad that is behind her, though no one knows how relieved she actually is.

" _Mistress Cara, why are we coming down this dank, dark hole," Reija asks as she holds the torch in front of her peering into the inky blackness beyond the flickering flame._

" _There is something I want to show you," Cara states casually as she stares at the back of the young recruit's head. "It's further down the path."_

 _The two women continue down the tunnel silently. The only sounds are the echo of their boots on the wet stone floor and the hiss of the lit torch. "Turn here," Cara instructs as they reach a secondary path in the underground system. The younger woman nods her head in understanding and takes the right turn at the fork._

 _As they travel down this new trail, the ground dips downward and the damp stones slowly turn to standing water that laps at their ankles then their knees. "What's down here, Mistress Cara," the young woman asks her teacher as she listens to the drips of water echo all around them. As she takes a few more steps, Reija realises that there is a steep drop off and she halts her movement forward._

" _I was hoping you could tell me," Cara says stiffly causing Reija to spin around to face the blonde woman behind her._

" _What do you mean?" The young teenager asks cautiously as her eyes glance back and forth around the tunnel then back towards the ever deepening pool of water behind her._

" _You don't think we are that stupid, do you?" Cara asks as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. "New recruits are monitored at all times. You thought we didn't see you escaping every night through this exact tunnel to gather food for the younger girls in the cells."_

" _I-i-i would never," Reija stutters out as she trains her eyes on the wall over Cara's left shoulder._

 _A predatory smirk crosses Cara's lips as she leans closer to the young teenager. "I knew you would give yourself away eventually."_

" _What?"_

" _It was a rumour. One of the children told Bernadine one afternoon after her training. It was an adventurous tale. She spoke of how you entered her cell one night at the darkest hour and gave her a couple of sweet-rolls." The blonde's eyes gleam with gleeful hatred. "Of course the girl can no longer speak, given the fact that Bernadine cut out her tongue. As you know it is a measure we have to take sometimes when a little girl wants to tell lies; but in this case we may have been a bit too forward with dolling out punishment."_

 _Reija looks back behind her into the dark depths of the pool. "I will never do it again..." She faces Cara again, tears staining her pale cheeks. "I promise... Mistress Cara, I will do whatever task you ask of me."_

 _The blonde's smirk transforms into a wolfish grin that causes Reija to sob. "I know you will never do it again. I already thought of the perfect last task for you to perform."_

Suddenly, Cara's hand slips on the slimy rock underneath. She quickly tries to gain another hold on the rock, but her hand grasps air. "At least I did remember there was a turn here," she mutters to herself as she quickly stands up. The blonde shakes her head to clear the remnants of the past from her thoughts and continues down the passage.

The water rises steadily the further she moves into the water. Reaching for the side of her belt, she takes the water-skin that was tied there and dumps the water from it. Taking the sides of the skin, Cara pulls at it to suck some of the air from the atmos around her. _'I may not need extra air for this trip, but it never hurts to be prepared,'_ she thinks as she tightens the top of the spout.

Before she sinks down into the cold water that surrounds her, Cara hears a faint scream in the distance. "Please hold on, Kahlan," she begs as she takes a deep breath. The Mord'Sith dives under the waterand feels around for the edge of yet another tunnel in the underground stream. _'I'm coming to save you,'_ she thinks as she grips the top of the passage and pulls herself inside. _'Just hold on.'_


	7. Chapter 7

"Please... Richard, let me go," Kahlan pleads through the pain of the agiel that the Seeker has ran across her side. He acts as though he does not hear her as he caresses her side again with the agiel. The touch of the weapon, though soft compared to the way the Confessor has seen Cara use it on their enemies, is an agonising torture for her and she desperately wants Richard to stop before more of her ribs are broken. "Stop, please."

A faint smile crosses the Seeker's face as he stares lovingly at the pained expression on Kahlan's face. "She can never love you like I do," he whispers as he grazes her side again.

Kahlan lets out a hoarse cry as she feels the snap of another rib. Mercifully, the agiel is taken away from her side and she pants as she greedily takes air into her lungs. _'Dying is better than this torture,'_ she thinks to herself as she tries to calm her breathing to keep herself from passing out. "Richard stop this now. You are not yourself."

"It is you who are not yourself!" he shouts as he presses the agiel into her stomach. "I love you but you go behind my back to be with _that_ bitch!" Richard withdraws the weapon from her abdomen and begins pacing. "I thought once I killed her, you would go back to normal. I know they are masters of seduction, but I never realised how far her talons were stuck into you. I should have seen what was going on behind my back but..." he trails off as he turns towards the door leading to the cell they were in. "Ah, we have a visitor," he states with a manic grin. The tinkling of bells echo down the stone corridor and reverberate off the walls. "Maybe I didn't finish her off," he thinks aloud with a thoughtful expression on his countenance. "Well, I should go rectify that!" He exclaims brightly as he unsheathes his sword and stalks out the door.

A tear trails down Kahlan's face as she thinks of a wounded Cara coming to her defence. "Dear Spirits, please protect her. Or, just please let it be some wild animal who thought there was food about. Please don't let her die," she mutters aloud before sobbing at the thought of Cara dying at the hand's of a madman. A groan escapes her throat as the pressure of her sobs causes the pain in her side to flare.

After a few moments without the sound of fighting permeating the silent void, Kahlan calms down. _'Hopefully, the spirits listened to me and it is nothing more than a poor animal that was caught in his trap,'_ she muses as she steadies her breathing, though she can no longer take a full breath of air into her lungs. _'I have to think of a way to get out of here before Richard kills me.'_

She glances about the room, desperately looking for something... anything to help her out of the chains that keep her hands pinned to the wall above her head. _'Nothing,'_ she thinks as she huffs. Kahlan moves her hands slightly and feels the pins and needles sensation in the tips of her fingers. _'This is hopeless,'_ she thinks morbidly as she tries to work the circulation back into her hands. _'Even if I could get free, I still can not use my power to keep him from harming me or worse.'_

At once, the Confessor hears footsteps heading back towards the dungeon. Voices echo off the walls and she tries to single out the owners.

"I'm telling you, Zed, she isn't herself." She hears Richard say as he stands outside the door. "I am really glad to see you here."

"I am just glad I made it in time," Zed says to his grandson. "After seeing what those brutes had done to Cara, I was worried that you and Kahlan would not have made it out alive either."

Kahlan's heart sinks at the wizard's words. _'He doesn't know what happened,'_ she thinks as she strains against the chains again. _'Richard has lied to him!'_

"It was a close one, Zed; but at least Kahlan and I were able to escape somewhat intact," Richard states. "But I think you may need to take a look at Kahlan though, ever since the banelings attacked us at camp, she hasn't been right. She kept trying to attack me."

"Attack you?" the wizard inquires curiously. "Why in the Creator's name would she do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but she keeps babbling incoherently and tries to attack me. I had to restrain her the last time she attacked," Richard says regretfully and slowly opens the door to the cell. "That was the injury to my shoulder-blade. She took her dagger and stabbed me. Can you take a look at it?"

"Of course, my boy!" Zed exclaims as he enters the room. "But first I need to check on Kahlan to see if maybe one of the banelings may have hit her on the head. Your shoulder can wait for the time being, but if her brain is bleeding, she may not have much time."

"Sure," Richard says with a smile as he enters the room behind his grandfather. "I just hope you made it in time. By the way, how did you know where to find us? There wasn't exactly time for me to leave you a note or anything."

Zed quickly schools his face from showing the horror he feels as he looks upon Kahlan bruised and battered face. He knows he has to be prepared to act his ass off in order to keep Richard occupied until Cara comes to help him. The wizard smiles softly at Richard, though he wishes he could use wizard's fire to blast his grandson into the Keeper's embrace. "Magic, my boy!" he exclaims as he pats the Seeker softly on his good shoulder. "When I saw what had happened, I quickly grabbed something of yours and created a spell that would lead me to you.

"I was worried that I would not make it in time, but it seems that I have," he says as he glances over at Kahlan and gives her a sly wink that Richard did not see.

Unbeknownst to Richard, Kahlan was listening to every single word that was spoken and only one thing stood out more than any other. _'Zed's lying!'_ she thinks happily as she continues to listen in on the conversation. _'If I ever thought that knowing when someone was lying was a punishment, I wish I could take the thought back,'_ she muses as she tries to keep calm. _'He is not here for Richard! He's here for me and Cara is alive!'_

Before she could dwell any longer in her happiness, Richard's voice breaks the small silence that had invaded a few seconds before. "Well, whatever you did, I am surely grateful," Richard says as he sits down on the chair beside the table in the middle of the room and places his sword on top of it. "I thought I would never see you again."

"And I thought I would never see you either, Richard," Zed says with a smile as he looks lovingly at his grandson. "Now before we finish our reunion, let me take a look at Kahlan's injuries."

Richard shakes his head slowly as he lets out a shaky breath. "I wish I had gotten to them sooner," he says with a sigh. "By the time I reached them, Cara was dead and Kahlan was barely hanging on. I killed the rest of the banelings myself and then carried her out of there. I guess she thought I was one of them, because when she finally came to, she buried her dagger into my back. I barely made it to this ruin before nearly passing out from blood loss.

"Luckily, I was able to find this agiel and cauterise the wound before I lost anymore blood."

"Luck always seems to be by your side, my boy," Zed states jovially before turning his attention back on the Mother Confessor. "Now, has any other banelings tried to attack while you have been holed up in here?"

"No, why?" Richard asks, rising slowly from the chair and looking towards the door.

"I just wanted to make sure no one was going to interrupt me while I heal Kahlan. Healing her body is one thing, but trying to heal her brain will be harder; and if I have any interruptions..." he shakes his head slowly. "We might lose her entirely."

"I will make sure you have no interruptions, Zed," Richard states hurriedly as he grabs his sword and races out the room. "I will reset the traps so we can have an advanced warning, in case someone does try to come after us."

The door closes with a slam behind the Seeker and Zed listens as he grandson's boots echo down the hall. The old man takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "Oh my dear, I am so sorry he did this to you."

Kahlan tries to smile but cringes at the pain. "I knew you were lying to him," she whispers as a tear trails down her cheek.

"Try not to speak," Zed whispers softly as he takes another breath. "You have a lot of injuries, but the most grievous ones are your ribs and your jaw."

"I am sorry I hurt him," she continues, ignoring the wizard's instructions. "I just fell in love with Cara."

"I know, my dear," he replies softly as he reaches for her hands and uses his magic to unlock her wrists from the wall. He helps ease the Mother Confessor down to the floor so she could be more comfortable. "Now, I will need you to relax as much as possible and try not to move. I am going to heal you."

She nods her head slowly as darkness creeps to the edges of her vision. She feels herself sinking into the darkness. A darkness so welcoming, she greets it like an old friend and longs to stay within its company forever.

 _Fight._

The word sounds foreign to her at first and she pauses briefly in her head-long rush into the dark oblivion that is before her. _'That voice sounds familiar,'_ she thinks hazily as she continues more slowly towards the darkness that is nearly within her reach.

 _Fight, Kahlan!_

The voice is much stronger now and she realises that it's a voice that she has longed to hear since she was with the person earlier in the evening. _'Cara,'_ she muses to herself as she turns away from the crepuscular void and stares longingly at the path she had previously crossed. _'Cara.'_

 _Please don't give up, Kahlan! You have to fight!_

She glances once more at the void before her and cringes in horror as she realises that it has taken shape and is staring back at her with blood-red eyes. "You can never escape my grasp, Kahlan," a deep voice growls from the pitch. "And once you leave the land of the living, I can torment you for the rest of your life."

The Mother Confessor turns from the eyes and races back towards the ever increasing light and the voice of the one person in the Midlands she longed to see. "Cara," she repeats over and over like a mantra as the light before her becomes brighter and brighter. A loud growl roars behind her as she steps into the luminous glow and embraces the warmth of the its rays. She takes a deep breath and sighs as she feels cool air flow through her lungs, making her feel as weightless as the air she had breathed in.

"Wake up, Kahlan," Zed pleads as he stares down at the fully-healed body of the Mother Confessor. It had been a standard healing session, as routine as any of the thousands of times he has healed other people before; but he knew as well as any other wizard that it takes the person themselves to finish the healing process.

He had tried to follow Kahlan's spirit down the tangled web of pain in which she housed within her, but he dared not travel any further. She was heading to the abyss that resides within all of us and was threatening to cross over to the other side. Zed coaxed her to leave it and to come back through towards the light, but her spirit was frightened by what Richard had done to her and Cara. The wizard understood her fears; he was horrified at what his grandson had done to both women.

He was about to give up. As he turns around to look away from Kahlan, she takes in a deep shuddering breath. "Kahlan!" he exclaims softly as he lifts her head up from the cold, hard stone and runs a rough calloused hand across her freshly healed skin.

"Zed?" she asks hoarsely as her eyes flicker open briefly.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Where's Cara?" she asks as she allows her eyes to stay open and stares up at the wizard's tear-streaked cheeks.

"I am glad to have you back," he says softly as he wraps his arms around her shoulders and hugs her to his chest.

"I am glad to be back, Zed," Kahlan replies softly as she feels her eyes tear up. "Please, is she alright?"

"She is, my dear," the wizard states with a smile that slowly fades. "And Cara is coming... Richard will not know what will hit him when she does arrive."


	8. Chapter 8

**_Author's Note: First and foremost, I would like to thank the people who have read this story and enjoyed it. Thank you for your support! As I had mentioned before this story is dark and there is a character death in this chapter._**

* * *

A placid stream stands forlornly in the back of the ruined temple. When the temple was in use several years ago, this stream was filtered to several different baths within the edifice by lead pipes that ran underneath the granite floor. Before it made its way to the baths, it was heated by a furnace the transported into the luxurious pools that the Mord'Sith, who once occupied the temple, would use after a hard day of fighting or training.

Now the cold, murky water is untouched by human engineering. The women who once lived in the temple left this site to return to D'Hara to never once think of the place they had considered their home away from home. A layer of algae covers majority of the water's surface, causing the room to have the slightly musty, murky smell of a swamp instead of the clean fresh air that once breezed its way through the room.

This is how the small pool of water has sat for a few years. Until now, as bubbles start to form in the centre of it. The bubbles grow in size causing ripples throughout the pools slimy covering. Suddenly, a woman breaches its surface and swims to the dusty granite edge. She takes a few seconds to catch her breath and to spit out the brackish water from her mouth.

"I figured this is where that tunnel led," Cara mutters to herself as she finally catches her breath. She pushes her soaked blonde hair out from in front of her face and slowly pulls herself up from the water. The Mord'Sith quickly assesses her surroundings before spotting the door she needs.

Crossing the dusty granite floor, Cara unsheathes an agiel from its holster when she reaches the door that leads to the warrens that meander their way towards the dungeons. Steeling herself as her gloved hand grasps the metal rung in the door, her other tightens its grip on her agiel. _'You can do this,'_ she thinks to herself as she pulls the door open. She cringes as the door creaks open on rusty hinges. The passageway ahead is dark and smells of years of neglect. Cara crinkles her nose at the smell but slips into the darkness.

 _'I really wish I had a torch,'_ she muses to herself as she grazes her fingertips against the rough wall to her right; but she knows that the darkness is what she needs to maintain the element of surprise. _'I hope the spirits are with the old man. If not, then I have to rescue him and Kahlan.'_ A lump rises in her throat as the faint thought of her possibly being too late to save either one of her friends enters her mind.

 _'No,'_ she tells herself firmly as she feels her hand round the corner she needs to turn down. _'I can not think like that. If I do, I can never help them,'_ she takes a deep breath. _'Even if I am too late, I will avenge them! Either way, Richard dies.'_

Up ahead in the distance, Cara sees a light at the bottom of the wall. _'I am glad for Darken Rahl's paranoia,'_ she thinks with a smirk as she moves closer to the light source. As she reaches the wall, the Mord'Sith presses her ear to the wall straining to hear past the thick stones.

" _I am so glad you are here Zed," Kahlan states softly._

" _I am glad I came in enough time, my dear," the wizard replies quickly. "We must be careful now. Richard will be back any minute now."_

" _Can't you cast a spell to see if there is anyone nearby?"_

" _I am too weak after healing Cara and then you. I also cast a few spells before reaching you to help us locate you," he says wearily. "I won't be able to cast anything else for at least an hour. Healing takes a lot out of a wizard."_

" _I understand," the Confessor replies softly._

Cara pulls her head away from wall and sighs with relief. "They're okay," she mumbles under her breath as she reaches out blindly against the wall. _'Now where is the mechanism to open this wall,'_ she thinks to herself as her hands run against the partition the separates her from Kahlan.

Her gloved hands wander across the expanse of wall beside the shaft of light seeping through the seemingly solid stone wall. As she was about to give up hope, her hand found purchase in a divot in the stone beside the hidden door way. Digging out the years of soil that had deposited itself into the crevasse, she inches her fingers further in to reach the trigger. Cara's digits finally graze the pressure plateand she steps back when she hears the rumble of stone against stone.

Kahlan tries to struggle from Zed's grip at the sound of the wall behind them falling in on itself. She automatically reaches for her daggers, but they were not in their holsters at her boots. The Confessor stumbles up from her sitting position on the ground and makes her way towards the table in the centre of the room. "He came back early," she mumbles aloud as her hands grasp the hilt of a dagger on the wooden tabletop.

She stares at the dark opening that was once solid wall and her breath catches in her throat as a figure emerges from the shadow. "Cara," she breathes out when she sees the Mord'Sith sleek form walk into the cell.

"Kahlan," the blonde responds as she quickly moves the rest of the way to the brunette. "You are allright," she breathes out once her gloved hand grazes the Confessor's cheek.

"Zed saved me," Kahlan replies with a sigh as she nestles her face further into the blonde's palm and wraps her arms around the Mord'Sith's waist.

The wizard in question slowly gets to his feet with a grunt. "I'm getting too old for this," he mutters as he walks towards the couple. Lowering his voice when he reaches the two women, he glances towards the door Richard could come back in through any second. "We need to leave now. Is there a way for us to leave in the path you came through?" He asks the blonde with trepidation.

Cara shakes her head softly. Licking her lips, the blonde gives Kahlan a quick look then turns towards the wizard. "Not with how weak you two are. I had to swim through an underground stream to get here. I will not have either one of you risk the journey. We are going to have to walk out the front door."

"But Richard is that way," Kahlan states as her arms wrap tighter around the Mord'Sith. "We cannot risk that way either. Neither one of us will be able to protect ourselves from him. Zed is weak from healing both of us, but I can fight, I just do not have my power." Her arm leaves the blonde's waist to tug at the Rada'Han encircling her neck. "He has the key to it," she continues as she stares into the green eyes in front of her. "If we can get it off of him. I can undo the lock and help you. We can walk out of here together."

"I can't afford for you to get hurt Kahlan," Cara states softly as she lowers her hand from the brunette's cheek and rests it on her shoulder. "I need you and Zed to hide in the path I came from and wait until I come for you."

"Cara..." the Confessor's lowers into a soft warning as she rolls her eyes and attempts to rebuke the blonde's obvious attempt at taking the weight of all their problems onto her shoulders.

Suddenly a clapping of hands erupts from the doorway. "I think this is better than any play I have seen in a long time. But, the acting could use a bit more work," Richard drawls as he enters the room. "Also, I think the evil villain should have died in the forest, but that's just my opinion."

Cara steps around Kahlan and twirls her agiels into her fists. "At least we can agree on something, Richard."

His sword rings out in the silence that followed the Mord'Sith's words. Lowering the glinting blade in front of him, the Seeker chuckles darkly as he watches the blonde step further away from Zed and Kahlan and closer to him. "I should have known that you had even bewitched my own grandfather, bitch," he spits as he glances behind her at the wizard pulling the Confessor, _his Confessor,_ towards a dank hole in the wall that was not there when he had left. "You took away everything from me!"

Cara shakes her head softly as she takes a deep breath. "No, you took everything away from yourself. I'll admit we never meant to hurt you, but as you had told me before; I should follow my heart wherever it may lead me."

"I never meant for you to take what belongs to me! You stole Kahlan from me and now I want her back!"

"I am no one's possession, Richard!" Kahlan shouts out as she struggles against Zed's grip around her waist.

Richard huffs as he stretches his neck muscles. "You say that now, Kahlan, because you are under her spell. We were so good together before she played with your mind, we were going to be together forever. We still will be together once I remove the only thing that stands in my way."

He lifts his sword above his head, anger radiating out of every pore of his body as he allows the steel to slam back down to the earth. Cara merely smirks as she raises her hand allowing her power to capture his magic. The Seeker groans in pain as he struggles to maintain the force of his blade.

The sound of the sword clattering to the floor causes the man to battle against the pain in his body as he attempts to stare at the blonde in front of him. He had forgotten, in his rage the true power of a Mord'Sith, the power to control wizards.

Cara smirks again as Richard slumps to the ground. "You seem surprised, Richard," she states as she circles around him. "You had sneaked up on us earlier this evening, so I wasn't prepared for you and the sword, but now..." she focuses her power and he screams in agony. "I was ready for you."

The man before her attempts to rise to his feet, his rage apparent in his eyes. "I should have killed you when Kahlan first wanted me to. You ruined everything and you will damn the world to the Keeper if you kill me." He allows a smirk to grace his lips when he feels her power diminish slightly at his words. "You will have the death of millions on your hands and the death of Kahlan as well. You know the Midlands and D'Hara need me to succeed. You remember the future we had visited will come to pass if you allow me to die. That is why you pledged your life to me. To protect me with your own life if you must. D'Hara needs a Rahl to rule. You need a Lord to follow."

Zed sees the blonde faltering at Richard's words and his mind scrambles to find away to protect them all. "Cara!" he shouts causing the woman to flinch. "He's lying to you! We do need a Seeker, but he isn't the true Seeker!" The wizard continues as he pushes Kahlan behind him and he steps back through the opening into the cell. "The sword's magic has depleted his senses, I was wrong. Richard isn't the true Seeker we need to defeat the Keeper."

"But D'Hara," Cara mutters numbly as she strengthens her hold on Richard's captured magic.

"D'Hara will live on, Cara!" Kahlan interjects before Zed could say anything. "We will find a way for your people and the people of the Midlands to coexist. Together we will find a way to bring about peace between the lands, but we must survive this first."

The Mord'Sith takes a deep breath and stares at the man on his knees before her. "I thought you were different from the rest of the Rahl's before you, but you aren't. You claimed you wanted freedom for me and my sisters, but in the end, like them, you only wanted to bring death. You used me like your brother and father before you." She raises her agiel towards his chin, making Richard grind his teeth at the pain of the weapon touching his chin. Lifting his chin so he could look into her eyes, the blonde stares at the pain that radiates from his darkened orbs. "You made me care for you like a friend and you nearly killed me and the woman you said you loved. I should stop your heart right now with my agiel, but I won't." She moves her weapon from under his chin and walks towards Zed and Kahlan.

Richard takes a deep breath as the pain from the agiel's touch slowly leaves his body. He still feels the pain of his power being captured by the Mord'Sith, but now he can at least breath again. "You are pathetic, do you know that? You are no true Mord'Sith. Deena would laugh at your feeble attempt just now. If you leave now, there is nothing stopping me from following you again once I recover. I will follow you to the ends of the earth. I would even follow you to the depths of the Keeper's realm if I have to, but I will eventually have what is mine," he spits out as he tries to get back on to his feet.

Cara twists her hand slightly to cause the Seeker to fall back to the ground in agony. "Did I say that I was going to allow you to live?" She reaches past Zed and holds a hand out to Kahlan. The brunette clutches the gloved hand eagerly as she moves out of the darkness and back into the feeble lighting of the cell. "All I said was that I would not kill you, but I am sure there is someone else who would want to do it for me."

Richard laughs painfully as he watches Kahlan move closer to him. "You wouldn't even dare, Kahlan. Your love for me will not allow you to kill me, plus you really do not believe that old fool back there." He tries to gesture and Zed but pain washes over him again causing his arm to fall back to the floor.

"You nearly killed me, you bastard," Kahlan states softly as she grips the hilt of her dagger that she had never let go of since she had found it on the table. "You made me believe the only person I had ever loved had died by your hand. You tortured me because you wanted to, what makes you so sure I would not gut you like the pig that you are?"

"I tried to save you, Kahlan," He gasps out as another wave of pain steals his breath. "She is the one who caused your torture. If you didn't fall under her spell, I would have never done what I had done to you."

"You're sick," Kahlan breathes out as his words echo through her mind. "You are not the same man I had met in the woods in Westland. You are a sick and twisted individual, I should have seen it from the start, but you were so nice to me when no one else had been before I had met you."

"I'm the same man," he states softly as he tries to charm the Confessor. "She had made you see me as a monster."

"No!" Kahlan screams out as she plunges the knife into his chest. "You are a monster! The person you say you were before would have never tried to kill his friends or his grandfather." She pulls the blade out of his chest and pushes him to the ground. "If you were supposedly the same man, you would have been hurt, surely, from the realisation that I did not love you like you wanted me to, but you would have never done what you did. You would have accepted it and learned to be our friend again."

Richard gasps as blood spills over his lips. She had punctured his lung and breathing had become an arduous task. "I was never _her friend!"_ He mutters through the viscous liquid that filled his mouth. "She was my subject. A supposed loyal subject that was to do my bidding, not fall in love with the woman I was to have as my wife."

Kahlan shudders with anger. "Even now, you hold onto these inane ideas that I am yours. I was never anyone's to have. My heart is my own to give to whoever I wish; not for someone to take it from me." She kneels down beside him and lowers her face to the side of his head. "You tried to rip my life from me and take away Cara from me." She slams the blade back into his chest. "Now your life is forfeit."


	9. Chapter 9

The two women walk through the long winding halls of the temple towards the exit. "Are you sure you are okay, Kahlan?" Cara asks as the brunette shiver in her arms.

"Yes, I think I am," Kahlan replies as she runs her hand over her now bare neck. After the Confessor had killed Richard, Cara retrieved the key to the Rada'Han and released the Confessor from its binding power. "I'm sorry I put you through all of this, Cara," she mutters softly as she wraps an arm around the blonde's waist.

Cara scoffs and rolls her eyes. "You did not put me through all of this," she replies as she tightens her grip around the Mother Confessor's waist. " _He_ did this to us."

"I know," the brunette continues. "But, if things had been different in the beginning..."

"Don't wish things to be different, Kahlan," Cara says softly as they reach the door to the outside. Opening the door, they are greeted to the dawning of a new day. "Even if things had been different, who is to say that he wouldn't have reacted the same way to something else. There was no spell effecting him, nor was this blind rage..." The walk towards an outcropping of boulders and the blonde leans against one of the taller ones while Kahlan chooses to sit down beside it. "It was just him. Everyone has it in them to do harm, most people do not resort to violence though."

Kahlan smiles up at the Mord'Sith. "That's very insightful, Cara. What has made you so wise suddenly?" the brunette asks teasingly.

The blonde arches her eyebrow and stares down at the Confessor. "I don't know if you have noticed, Confessor, but I am an observant person; so therefore, it isn't sageness. It is the ability to read people." Kahlan chuckles softly at the Mord'Sith's answer causing the blonde to smirk as she slides down the boulder and sits beside the Confessor. "I love hearing you laugh," Cara states as she reaches for Kahlan's hand and entwines their fingers.

They sit in silence, watching the sun rise whilst waiting for the wizard to finish his grim task. It had been his idea after all to burn the body of his grandson so he would not turn into a baneling and follow after them.

 _Cara stares at the body on the cold hard granite. Her breathe finally returning to normal after Richard's final breath. The blonde's mind barely registering anything but the blood flowing freely from the stab wounds of her now deceased master. Suddenly, a hand softly touches her wrist. "It's okay, Cara," Kahlan says softly as she pushes the blonde's hand down. She snaps out of her reverie and_ realises _that she is still holding her weapons tightly in her hands._

 _'There is no pain,' the Mord'Sith thinks numbly as she looks down at the agiels in her hands. 'He really is dead. There is no one to rule D'Hara now. No one to rule over me,' she reminds herself as she throws the weapons to the floor._

" _Is there something wrong, my child?" Zed asks as he walks over to the two women._

" _The pain... it's gone," she mutters as she furrows her eyebrows and stares down at the agiels._

" _It's the first time in a long time since you have not felt their sting," the wizard states as he goes over to the body of his grandson. Taking a deep breath to hold back the tears that threaten to fall, Zed kneels down by the corpse and checks for any sign of life. "What did you do, you foolish foolish boy?" he asks though he knows no answer will ever come. "I'm sorry," he says aloud to the women in the room. "I wish that I didn't feel some sort of grief for him..." the tears escape and run down his cheeks. "But he was my grandson."_

 _Kahlan kneels down beside him and gently touches his shoulder. "We understand, Zed. You were in his life since he was born. It is normal to feel that way."_

 _He nods his head and sighs as he tries to pull himself together. "It is for the best, I think, though it pains me to say it. What he did to both of you was inexcusable." He turns to face the Mother Confessor as she stands up from her kneeling position. "Can you two give me a moment? I will take care of the body... Creator knows we do not need him coming back as a baneling."_

 _The Mother Confessor nods her head in understanding as she turns towards the blonde. "We'll give you a few moments, Zed. We will be outside when you are finished."_

" _One minute," Cara states as she kneels down beside the corpse and rifles through Richard's clothing. The other two members of the group stare at the Mord'Sith, confusion marring their faces. After a few moments the blonde stands, but not before grabbing one of her agiels from the floor and placing it in the holster at her hip. "We nearly forgot something," She says as she dangles the key to the Rada'Han from her closed fist. Walking towards the brunette again, she reaches up towards her neck with the key and unlocks the constricting magical device from the Confessor's neck. She turns to throw the horrid device onto the table, but Kahlan stops her. "Let's bring it with us," the brunette mumbles out quickly. The Mord'Sith shrugs her shoulders and wraps her arm around Kahlan's waist. "Are you sure you are up to it wizard?" Cara asks as she glances down at the wizard._

" _I think my power is back enough to cast a basic fire spell," he replies as he stands up._

" _That's not what I am asking, though it is good to know that your power is back," she replies as she looks down at Richard's lifeless body and back to Zed._

 _He smiles sadly at her show of concern. "It will be hard, but I know it has to be done... no matter how he had died, or if any of us were to have the same fate, I would believe this is a necessity that we must live with in this world we inhabit."_

 _The two women turn to leave, but the wizard clears his throat drawing their attention back to him. "We need to bring the sword with us. It wouldn't do any of us any good to leave it behind, plus there is still the task of renaming a Seeker," he states as he stares at the Sword of Truth. The weapon lying within its scabbard in the centre of the table. As Kahlan reaches for the sword she looks at Zed and allows a small smile to grace her lips before she and Cara turn to leave out of the dungeon._

"What are you thinking about?" Kahlan asks as she watches the blonde trace random patterns with her hand across the back of the Confessor's hand.

"Well, to be honest," the blonde pauses as she glances up into the brunette's blue eyes. "I'm wondering how I became so lucky."

Kahlan smiles at the comment, but wants to draw more out of the normally stoic blonde. "What makes you so lucky?" The Confessor asks lightly, hoping the blonde will rise to the bait.

Cara looks uncomfortable momentarily before she huffs and rolls her eyes. "What do you think makes me lucky?" she counters with a smirk on her face. The blonde knew perfectly well what the Mother Confessor was trying to do. "But if I have to spell it out for you, it is you that makes me lucky. Never before, in my entire life, have I met someone that I care for as much as I care for you; and you feel the same way, so I think this makes me pretty damn lucky."

Kahlan smiles as she leans against the blonde's shoulder. "I know what you mean," she replies as she watches a small blue bird flutter into view and alight onto the branch of a small, spindly spruce tree. "I never knew, until last night, when you kissed me."

The Mord'Sith smiles softly at the memory of the Mother Confessor's luscious lips. "You do know that there are many more where that came from, right?" the blonde murmurs into the dark brown waves of Kahlan's hair causing her to shudder.

"Is that right?" the Confessor remarks softly as she moves her head slightly off the blonde's shoulder to look into her eyes.

"Of course it is," the Mord'Sith murmurs lovingly as she lowers her face towards the brunette's and grazes her lips against Kahlan's. The brunette eagerly deepens the kiss as she opens her mouth and licks her tongue against the blonde's lips, begging for entry.

Cara smirks into the kiss at the feeling of the Mother Confessor's quest to deepen the kiss then allows her own mouth to open when she groans at the feeling of Kahlan moving from the ground to slip onto the blonde's lap. Wrapping her arms around the brunette waist, Cara moves her mouth away from Kahlan's to take a deep breath. "What is that for Mother Confessor?" she questions with a smile. "Not that I don't mind the gesture," she continues as she looks at the woman sitting in her lap. "But it was unexpected."

"I thought you might have expected it," Kahlan replies with a smile, running her hand over the blonde's cheek. "After all, you did save me."

Cara rolls her eyes at the response and sets about removing the scabbard that housed the Sword of Truth from the Confessor's shoulder. "And I would save you again and again if I have to," she whispers as she sets the sword to the side and stares into Kahlan's blue eyes reverently.

"Who would have thought that the big, bad Mord'Sith would confess such a thing to the Mother Confessor?" Kahlan verbalises mirthfully as she runs her hand over a rip in Cara's leathers. She frowns as she realises it came from when Richard had rammed the sword into the blonde's shoulder.

Sensing where the brunette's mind was going, Cara takes her hand into her own and brings it to her lips. Kissing each finger lightly the blonde takes a deep breath and stares into the sad blue orbs before her. "Don't allow yourself to think on it," she whispers as she lets go of the Confessor's hand and wraps her hands around Kahlan's waist again. "I would go through any torture to just see your smile," she continues as she feels the tension in the brunette ease slightly. "I don't even think of any of it any more. Today is a new day, and with it brings a new life. What does tend to stay in my mind, however, is one simple thing."

"What's that?"Kahlan asks as she places her hands on top of the blonde's and squeezes them slightly.

Cara smirks and moves her head closer to Kahlan's. "Well, I was wondering why in the Creator's name would you possibly want to keep a Rada'Han around? It is a very horrible magical device. It bound your power and kept you from saving yourself. If it was me, I would have thrown it away the second it was off of me, but you didn't... why is that?"

Kahlan blushes at the question and buries her face into the blonde's neck. She mumbles something against Cara's neck causing the Mord'Sith to smile. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

With a huff, the brunette takes her face away from the blonde's neck and whispers. "It binding my power gave me an idea."

"And what idea was that?"

The Mother Confessor blushes again as looks down at a lock of her hair and tugs on in it. "Well, you know what a Confessor can do to a Mord'Sith, right?"

Cara nods her head knowingly. "I happen to remember a certain someone reminding me what could happen several months back," she answers with a smirk causing the brunette to lower her head again. "That still doesn't answer my question."

Biting her lower lip, Kahlan tries to look around them to find something, anything, to take her mind off the conversation they were having. When nothing but the vast trees, boulders, and the front of the temple presents itself, she sighs. "Well, I want to be sure everything is taken care of in case we decide to take our relationship further."

The Mord'Sith's silence is deafening to the Confessor as she mentally berates herself for even thinking that they would further the relationship now. _'She almost died trying to protect me. We all almost died. What was I thinking,'_ she thinks to herself as she tries to stand, only to find the blonde had wrapped her arms tighter around her waist. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"No..." Cara starts as pulls the Confessor closer to her. "I am sorry. Your answer caught me off guard. I figured I knew the reason, and I did, but it was just a shock to hear you say it aloud. I had hoped nothing would have changed between us. I could have understood if it did, but I am pleasantly surprised that it didn't."

Kahlan lets out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. "Why would you think that," she whispers as she leans her head against Cara's and stares into the blonde's beautiful green eyes. "I am, after all, sitting very comfortably on your lap and we did just have a mind-blowing kiss before that."

The Mord'Sith laughs softly as she traces a finger down the brunette's back. "I was just worried that after all we had went through, that you would no longer wish to pursue this relationship."

"I would never do that," Kahlan whispers against the blonde's lips. "After all we have been through, I was hoping we would be together for a very, very long time."

Cara smiles as she hears the brunette's words. She leans forward and captures the Confessor's lips in a smouldering kiss. Tongues battle for dominance as both women moan into the kiss. The Mord'Sith's hand travels along the slit in Kahlan's leather dress causing the brunette to gasp and break the kiss. "Too much, Confessor?" the blonde asks cheekily causing Kahlan to blush.

"No," she replies softly as she runs a hand through Cara's short blonde hair. "You just surprised me. I have never had anyone touch me like you do."

"Well, there is more where that came from," the Mord'Sith states with a sly grin.

Before Kahlan could respond, the two women hear footsteps on nearing the entrance to the temple. Cara instinctively reaches for her agiel and sighs with relief when she doesn't feel the familiar pain that it would normally bring. "It's Zed," she whispers to the Mother Confessor. They both stand and walk towards the ruin, meeting the older man at the entrance.

"It's done," he utters solemnly. A hint of smoke wafting on the breeze from his clothing. "I am sorry that it took so long to finish, my dears, but I almost couldn't bring myself to do it." He sighs as he takes a deep breath and steps out into the warm sunlight. Breathing deeply, Zed stretches his neck and closes his eyes to allow the warmth of the day to alter his current emotions. He smiles slightly at the chirping of the birds in the distance as he breathes in the earthy woody scent of the forest.

"Are you okay, Zed," Kahlan asks after a few moments.

"Yes," he says slowly as he opens his eyes. "Yes I think I am. I did not think that I would have been, but now, standing here in the sunshine and seeing all of the loveliness that the Creator has given us. I do believe things will look up from here on out."


	10. Chapter 10

The three companions trudge away from the ruined temple towards the cave where Cara had left Kahlan's and her own knapsacks. The blonde grasps the Confessor's hand in her own and smiles when she looks over to the brunette. "What is it?" Kahlan asks as she catches the Mord'Sith staring at her.

Cara takes a deep breath, trying to work out what she wants to say to Kahlan. "I... I just wanted to tell you something," she stumbles out as they draw closer to the cavern.

Kahlan smiles brightly and lifts an eyebrow in expectation. "Well..."

The Mord'Sith licks her lips and decides right then that she would say what has been on the tip of her tongue since the night before. _'If she doesn't feel the same way yet, I can still tell myself that I was brave enough to tell her how I feel,'_ she thinks to herself. _'Why am I even debating with myself when she had just said that she hopes that we can be together for a very long time?'_ The blond shakes her head quickly, trying to dispel any lingering doubts in her mind. "I love you, Kahlan," she breathes out as she glances over to the brunette.

Kahlan doesn't answer verbally, but pulls the blonde into a long embrace and kisses her temple. "I love you too," she mutters out by the blonde's ear causing the Mord'Sith to blush slightly.

Zed chuckles softly from his position behind the two women, cutting off the laughter quickly when he sees the blonde turn towards him. The wizard raises his hands in surrender. "I didn't see a thing," he answers the blonde's menacing glare with a soft smile.

Cara turns away from the old man when she hears the Confessor laugh beside her. "What's so funny?"she asks as she runs her gloved hand through her hair.

"You do know we have both basically told Zed our feelings for one another, right?" Kahlan asks as she stares at the blonde who nods in response. "So I think it is kind of funny to see you react like you do when he is around us."

The Mord'Sith grumbles as she walks ahead of her two companions and reaches the mouth of the cave. She scoops up the two satchels from the ground and hands one to the Confessor. "So what do we do now?" she asks as she watches the brunette take off the scabbard and hand it over to the wizard.

"We have to name a Seeker and then continue on our quest for the Stone of Tears," Kahlan responds as she adjusts her pack onto her back after she had placed the Rada'Han in it. "Once we have that, we can defeat the Keeper and rescue the New World." The Mother Confessor gestures towards Cara's boots and the blonde leans down to reach for the daggers she had forgotten she was carrying. Once the Mord'Sith hands the weapons to Kahlan, the Confessor smiles. "I am glad you kept them with you," she says softly as their fingertips graze each others.

"I would have never left them behind," Cara pledges as she looks deeply into Kahlan's blue eyes.

A cough from behind them makes the two women jump slightly. A smirk on the wizard's face tells the two women that the noise was intentional. "Now that I have your attention," he starts as he looks upon the two women. A smirk still plastered to his face. "I need to name a new Seeker."

"Where are we going to find one out here in the middle of nowhere?" Cara asks with a sigh as she glances at the forest and the cave. "It's not like I see a large amount of people lining up to take the sword."

Kahlan stifles a giggle at the blonde's remark and shakes her head slightly. "I was thinking of someone within our little group, Cara," the wizard huffs out as he holds the sword by its scabbard. "Now I have been doing a lot of thinking on this during the past few hours, and I feel as though there is only one person within our group with the strength to keep the sword from overtaking them mentally. And it helps that this person is without a weapon."

Cara's eyes bulge as she takes in what Zed had said. "Oh no, wizard," she says as she backs away from him. "I am Mord'Sith, I can not also be a Seeker!"

"I believe that you can," Zed states confidently as he stands beside Kahlan. "You have already shown that you have the strength and moral turpitude to handle the blade, so it doesn't take a large leap to come to the conclusion that you should become the new Seeker."

"But how can a Mord'Sith become Seeker?" Cara asks as she looks at the wizard and then back to the Mother Confessor. "Wouldn't my power cancel out the power of the sword? It is a magical item, so therefore it would be useless in my hands."

"I honestly do not think you are a Mord'Sith any more, Cara," Zed continues as he looks towards the boulders at the mouth of the cave and walks towards them. He sits down on one of the larger ones with a sigh. "Most of your magic revolves around a Lord Rahl, correct?"

Cara nods her head as she glances down at the powerless agiel in its holster. "The power of our agiels come from the Lord Rahl. Without a Lord Rahl, our weapons and some of our other abilities are gone."

"So that should suggest that you are no longer Mord'Sith, right?" Kahlan adds hopefully, she having a different reason to want the wizard's logic to be right.

"But we are broken to become Mord'Sith," Cara urges as she tosses down her satchel and stares at the sky. "We are broken by our own agiels that are given to us as our weapons. It is a process that creates us, not just the magic of the Lord Rahl."

"When you were taken by the Mord'Sith, were you but an average girl?" Zed asks as he looks at the blonde with a soft smile.

"Yes...but," Cara pauses as she tries to think of something else to say. Ever since she was little, the blonde had only known the pain of the agiel and the knowledge of what she had become once the quad had taken her from her family.

"Let's try something," Zed states suddenly as he stands from the boulder and sets down the sword and his pack. "I will try to hit you with a spell and we will see if you can capture my power."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Kahlan replies suddenly as she looks nervously at the blonde. "If it doesn't work, I don't want to see Cara hurt," she explains as she sees the confusion in the wizard's eyes.

"Oh, I won't hurt her," he states suddenly as he realises the mistake he had made. Both women had been through so much in such a little time that the older man forgot, in his excitement at the mere possibility of the Mord'Sith no longer having her, that neither woman wanted to see any more pain placed on the other. "It will not be a harmful spell, just a simply light spell that would send an orb of light towards her. We used to use when I was a boy. Our tutors would send these balls of light towards us and we would practise our protection shields. This way, even if the light passed the barrier we would create, no one was ever harmed."

"Okay," the Mother Confessor breathes out with relief. She walks over towards the boulder that the wizard had set his pack on and sits down to watch them. "What if she still has the power to capture your magic?" Kahlan asks as the thought comes to her mind.

"Then we may have to suspend our search for the Stone until we can find a proper Seeker," he replies gently. "But I have a feeling that this will work and that Cara here is actually the true Seeker that we were looking for."

"I don't know about that wizard," Cara mutters sullenly as she sets down her satchel and takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready if you are!" she huffs out as she rolls her shoulders and prepares to take the older man's magic.

Zed weaves both of his hands in front of him creating a tiny ball of light. The ball grows larger with every pass of his hand until it is the size of a melon. Casting a smile at the blonde in front of him, he calls out, "Ready?"

Cara huffs, "Just get on with it old man!"

Chuckling lightly, the wizard angles his hands towards the Mord'Sith and watches as the blonde throws her hand up to attempt to capture his power and use it against himself. A surprised gasp comes from all three of them when the ball hurtles towards Cara. The blonde cringes as she is encased in the warm glow of the ball of light. She breathes a sigh of relief when she realises that it did not harm her at all.

"I told you it would work!" Zed exclaims as he ends the spell and hurries over to the blonde. Kahlan rushes over too and places her hands on the sides of Cara's face. "You are okay!" she breathes out in relief as she notices no burns on the woman in front of her.

"I knew she would be okay," the wizard states confidently as he stands beside the two women. "So, I think it is safe to say that you are no longer Mord'Sith, don't you think?"

Cara reaches for Kahlan's hands and removes them from her face, but does not let them go when she lowers them to the front of her body. "But how is that possible? The Mord'Sith at the temple I was raised in said that no one can ever go back to being normal once they become Mord'Sith. 'You are born Mord'Sith, you will die Mord'Sith.' It was a favourite saying of theirs," she mutters as she squeezes Kahlan's hands.

"But you were not born Mord'Sith," Kahlan responds as she squeezes the blonde's hands in response to Cara.

"The breaking process is also known as your birth," Cara replies as she takes a deep breath and stares at the wizard. "How did you do that? How did you know it would work?"

"I figured it had something to do with the Rahl magic," Zed states excitably as he starts to pace. "I thought that once the power of your agiel was gone, the power that had been passed on to you by the ruler of D'Hara would also fade as well. Since there is no ruler to fuel the power of the agiel, there would be no ruler to fuel the magic that had been bestowed upon you. I have seen it happen from time to time when a wizard or sorceress passes, there magic passes along with them. There are very few magics that survive the death of its conjurer and most of those spells are placed on buildings or inanimate objects. Never on humans. So, basically you can say that I took a guess and it paid off!"

"So this was all speculation?" Kahlan asks as she turns to stare at the older man. He nods his head animatedly and grins. "So you are telling me that you were placing all of this on faith? What if you were wrong and your magic had been captured? Or what if instead of a harmless ball of light, the thing had turned to something different and hurt Cara?"

"It's okay, Kahlan," Cara says softly as she squeezes the brunette's hands reassuringly. "It all turned out the way he planned and neither one of us were hurt. Honestly, if he did hurt me with that spell, I know you would have made him heal me no matter what." She reaches up and cups the Mother Confessor's cheek with her gloved hand. "I did all of this because I trust you with my life."

The brunette sighs at the admission and leans her cheek further into the blonde's hand. "What have you decided about his idea?" she asks softly, hoping that her tone would also keep the blonde from angering over the Confessor's hope of wanting Cara to be the Seeker.

"I have a few questions," Cara says calmly as she looks into Kahlan's blue eyes. "But so far, if it will help save the world, which in turn would keep you safe, then I am all for it."


End file.
